It was 2015. The stakes were huge. The rival? Unforgiving and familiar. The Ravens were New England’s worst nightmare in the playoffs, not simply another AFC team. In 2009, Tom Brady’s postseason hopes were dashed by them. In 2012, they’d stolen the AFC title right out of Foxborough. You seem Baltimore wasn’t just a rival, they were the anarchy that had long lurked at the edge of New England’s dynasty.
However, the Divisional Round was on January 10, 2015. Stadium Gillette. New England suffered a setback. Incredibly, they managed to get to their feet both times. Baltimore had a 14-point edge from the start. New England returned. Baltimore then struck once more, creating a 14-point deficit. Once more, Brady and his team did not blink. What actually happened was a four-quarter fight that was framed as a football game, with Julian Edelman smacking in the centre like a cleat-clad street fighter.
Eleven years later, this week, Edelman revisited that night. Back to the grind and mayhem. On Instagram, he shared a reel of the game with one phrase that punched every Patriots fan in the chest: “Wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days when you’re actually in them.” The video? His moment. The one that halted time. Brady threw the most crucial ball of the evening with a lateral, a step, a look, and a 51-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola. That touchdown didn’t just tie the game. It cracked open the Ravens’ identity.
They were the ones who bullied others. They didn’t get bamboozled. But with one spiral, Edelman, a former college quarterback turned slot assassin, reduced Baltimore’s pride to a joke. Then, all of a sudden, the script was reversed. Not only did the Patriots defeat the Ravens that evening, but they did so twice. Down 14. Then down 14 once more. Two separate deficits. Two full-scale responses. Most teams lose their motivation to win after just one. But New England wiped them both and stood up to leave the Ravens gasping for air.
In retrospect, that game may have been the most Patriot thing ever: losing badly, being counted out, and then erupting with inexplicable genius when it meant most. Now, more than ten years later, Edelman’s tweet served as a reminder rather than merely a recollection of a family and a battle. There was a time when the Patriots did more than simply defeat the Ravens. They outperformed the odds, the clock, and possibly even Father Time.
And perhaps that is why these kinds of situations are still significant. For men like Edelman, the past is a standard. A fire. And he doesn’t hold back when he sees even a hint of that former Patriots DNA in today’s rookies.
Julian Edelman sees ‘Mankins mentality’ in Will Campbell
When Julian Edelman begins comparing the Patriots’ rookie to Logan Mankins, you know they’re unique. And that’s precisely what happened this week when Rob Gronkowski and Edelman dissected New England’s 2025 draft class on the Dude on Dudes podcast.
It was Edelman who set off the fireworks as Gronk gave the Patriots an “A+” grade: “Campbell, I love him. I think I really love him. All my little sources, they all say this kid’s a f—— killer. After I saw his interview, said he would f—— die for Drake Maye, gave me low-key some Logan Mankins vibes.”
Logan Mankins. The guy who once scored a touchdown after stopping Brady’s fumble. The player treated every play as if it were his own. Brady once referred to this man as the epitome of “Patriot Football.” You don’t make that connection lightly unless you truly see it.
And Edelman is not alone. In his tearful post-draft press conference, Will Campbell, the 6’6″, 325-pound mauler from LSU, told reporters, “I’m gonna fight and die to protect [Drake Maye] with everything I’ve got.” The mindset of an old-school trench war. The statistics support it as well: 2,553 snaps, 38 collegiate games, and only 5 sacks allowed. The child is a wall. A wall with a strong purpose. The Logan Mankins intensity is genuine, so you know Edelman wasn’t exaggerating if you watched his interview.
Gronk agreed, not only with Edelman’s portrayal of Campbell but also with the tone: this draft class of Patriots? Aggressive and hungry. And perhaps, just possibly, the beginning of another ‘good old days’ moment that Patriots fans can’t wait to see again.
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