Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte makes his one-handed TD grab in Sunday's AFC playoff win over the Texans that could be New England's signature play of the season. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s a familiar script for the New England Patriots, but one they haven’t used in several years.

They would always be talented enough to win their Super Bowls, but there were always players who reached back for something extra to make a special play at just the right time.

So sure, the Patriots have what many feel is a clear path to the Super Bowl with Jarrett Stidham. But this is one of those Patriot teams that has the knack to make the out-of-ordinary play, the extra-ordinary play.

You’ve all seen the one-handed grab by Keyshan Boutte in the end zone in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round playoff win over the Houston Texans. There’s more football to be played, but right now, that TD catch may be the signature play of the season.

“I wasn’t around Kayshon before this year, so I don’t have anything to go off of,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “I just know that he’s very unselfish. … You notice his actions, you don’t necessarily hear them. That’s just his personality. But you can certainly see that his identity when he plays is exactly what we want.”

Just let your play do the talking, which is what the Brady Era Patriot teams did. They will make the effort plays. Celebrate and then be ready for the next play. Ho-hum.

“I think the guys don’t get too high or too low,” Vrabel said. “Hopefully, we can understand that we can feed off each other, but also pick each other up. The defense has been doing that a little bit lately. We have to do a better job of not making it be a sudden change, but making it be complementary. When the offense is rolling, getting the ball back to them quickly. But also, if the situation arises that we have to go out there and play defense on short notice, that we’re able to do that as well. And then offensively, we can string some drives together, and the special teams continue to try to set the table.”

Vrabel is always careful to make sure his players in all spots get the praise. They have lost one football game over a span of nearly four months. Four months. Think about that.

How? Cohesion. The buy-in that was discussed often after Sunday’s game. But they also have something that was completely lacking a year ago: Leadership.

For example, Milton Williams – who in this mind is their team MVP runner-up behind Maye, has been to two Super Bowls, including last year’s Eagles win over the Chiefs. Conference championship games are marked on his calendar as a near-annual occurrence. So he knows the deal and will be available to any player who wants to know the deal too.

The Patriots are playing a football game on Sunday at Denver. The only thing different is a bigger celebration on the field afterward.

“Don’t make it bigger than what it is,” Williams said. “We’re still playing football.We’re just in the tournament. Keep doing what we’ve been doing, last week, today. Everything will take care of itself.”

It’s probaby what Sean Payton is trying to tell his Broncos with Stidham now taking over under center in an incredible turn of events. Play football. Vrabel talked about how there was some discussion on signing Stidham as Maye’s backup in the offseason, reuniting him with the franchise that drafted him. But they opted not too, and Denver inked him to a two-year deal. Payton loves him.

The Patriots don’t want to love the fact its him and not Bo Nix they’ll be facing.

“You don’t want to look past nobody,” Williams said. “Focus on who we’ve got. We focused on the Texans. Now we’ll focus on Denver. Keep it at that.”

And just pretend the plays you make are ordinary.

RANKINGS

Here’s our rankings of the Final Four:

1.Seattle. 2. New England. 3. L.A. Rams. 4. Denver.