The road is long, the road is hard, but for the New England Patriots, the road is perfect.

As in 8-0 perfect.

That’s hard to do. It’s almost unbelievable. The Patriots, of course, did it once before, in 2007 when they went 16-0 in the regular season, 8-0 on the road. Everyone always likes to be home. Familiar territory. Home is where the heart is. And supposedly the wins.

But the Patriots, whose fans always travel well and will certainly make their presence felt at Mile High in Denver on Sunday, ignored all of that. They won at Miami in the second game of the season, but their big road win was at Buffalo three weeks later that got everyone feeling this Patriots team would be a playoff contender. Playoff contender, not Super Bowl contender, playing in the AFC Championship Game this weekend.

But the streak continued. The Buffalo game was the first of three straight on the road, Tennessee and New Orleans next. No problem.

“We’ve played in a lot of different environments,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “You’ve got to take care of the footbal. You’re going to have to try to find a way to win in critical situations at the end of the half, at the end of the game, whether thats five-minute…”

Vrabel says its just a series of clutch plays that set the tone.

“I just think back to, defensively, getting stops in Miami, we made a critical kick. Tampa Bay, we executed at the end of the half. Certain situations – five minute in New Orleans. So I think each game has it’s own story, but you better take care of the football, especially in Denver.”

No kidding. This is the most hostile environment the Patriots will have played in. And the loudest. Remember those AFC Championship Games at Mile High a decade ago between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning? The Patriots had all sorts of trouble. As Patriots QB Drake Maye said “The magnitude of the noise will probably be something we haven’t seen this year yet.”

Or heard. But remember this: They were trailing Baltimore 24-13 in the fourth quarter, fans screaming, and rallied to win 28-24. That’s not easy to do, and cemented the idea that this Patriots team could handle just about anything.

“Well, I mean, I think we try to preach it through the entire offseason and being able to establish an identity that travels,” Vrabel said. “Overcoming mistakes that happen in the game which there aways are. I think that you have to be resilient.”

That’s because the twists and turns of a football game can drive you crazy with hostile fans screaming at you.

“There’s going to be some swings of momentum,” Vrabel said. “You’re going to have to be able to handle the environment offensively and not put yourself in bad situations because your operation isn’t very good. So there’s a lot of things that we try to practice, knowing that we’re going to have to play half of our games on the road.”

“I think playing on the road is – one of the coolest things is coming off the field at their place, with screaming fans, and coming out with a win,” Maye said. “I think it’s pretty cool to ceebrate and celebrating in an away locker room that’s different. Coach has always been saying ‘Road Warriors’.

“So we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong, what we’ve done this year. We’ve got a tough job and a tough challenge but I think the guys will be pumped and ready for it.”

And if they win, the Patriots will then be making the ultimate road trip – one no one in their right mind after their first win in hostile territory would have expected them to make.

Tom King may be reached at X @Telegraph_TomK, or via email at tking@nashuatelegraph.com