There was a different feeling, it seemed, after Sunday’s win for the New England Patriots than many of the others.

This is a very, very close knit team. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals, escaping with a 26-20 win that went down to the wire. But they looked more relieved and drained at the podium after the game watching the post game press conferences.

Why? Well, they saw two of their bretheren get carted off in left guard Jared Wilson and left tackle Will Campbell. They’re both popular figures in the room as rookies. And they both have played well, with some limitations, this season. And will be missed on the field if they’re out for any length.

Then they were able to Facetime with popular linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who had to leave the team this weekend for personal reasons. All this stress prompted some words of wisdom from rookie TreVeyon Henderson.

“This team has been through a lot,” he said. “I feel like a lot of times, people can just look at us athletes as if everything is perfect in our lives and we’ve got it all figured out. But we don’t. We’re people who go through things just like everyone else.

“We’re people who struggle just like everyone else as well. I wish people could see that more, but it’s hard when people just see us as football players, and we’re humans just like everyone else. We’re no better than others just because of the fame and the money … I wish people can see us more as humans instead of football players.”

He’s so right. We always tend to forget that, don’t we? There is no way in the days of Bill Belichick a rookie gets the podium time to deliver that message, but he got the go-ahead as this is the Mike Vrabel Era where the players are the important thing. Yes, something is up with this team in terms of concern for their teammates.

So this is a time when the Patriots are able to pull out a win but now know that adversity is waiting around every corner. The younger Patriots are learning that each game is a challenge. Players should all take the rookie’s approach.

“Yeah, it was a battle,” he said. “It was a tough one for sure. I try to suspect that going in each week, not looking at the record. I don’t really pay too much attention to the records of the team, because I know in the NFL every week is always going to be a dog fight. Thank God we got through that, and came out with the win.”

Vrabel certain set the tone for that.

“That’s what happens in this league,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “You need everybody to go through the season. You go on the road and you know it’s tough and nobody wants to talk about numbers and records – that doesn’t mean (bleep).”

“Yeah, it’s the National Football League,” Patriots corner Marcus Jones, who had a pick six, said. “Any given Sunday. You have to make sure you are consistent when it comes down to it. We have a lot of things to correct, and we came out with the win.”

More of the same message:

“Yeah, it was a battle,” corner Christian Gonzalez said. “Any game s. It’s the NFL, so it’s hard to get wins. Being able to facesome adversity, and being down as a defense, and being able to come back and get it done – shout out to the offense, who did a lot today and did some really good things. We’ll watch the film and learn a lot from this game.”

The biggest thing they learned: Things are likely going to get harder before they get easier.

Like any other job, right?

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on X at @Telegraph _TomK.