FOXBORO -- Bill Belichick was emphatic as he delivered a message to his locker room after its come-from-behind win over the Bills.
"That's the way to believe in yourselves," he said. "That's the way to stick together."
It's as though belief was on his mind. It's as though his team's togetherness looked tenuous as three straight losses piled up.
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Hard to blame him for thinking along those lines after a 1-5 start to the season. Confidence had understandably waned at times over the course of their recent losing streak. Complementary football had been just about non-existent.
But those things seemed to be back at Gillette Stadium on Sunday after a lengthy hiatus.
The Patriots got an early turnover from their defense, a 10-point first-quarter lead from their offense, and key plays in the kicking game. There was a connectivity present between phases that had been lacking.
And, when it comes to that harder-to-gauge element of belief, there's a certain level that must've existed in order for the Patriots to play as they did, taking down a division rival for the first time since a wind storm in Orchard Park two years ago. And after giving up a late-game lead, no less.
Their quarterback, in particular, played like he was trying to make a believer out of an entire region.
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Mac Jones hit on 25 of 30 throws for 9.1 yards per attempt and two touchdowns. His performance was punctuated by a game-winning drive with time expiring in the fourth quarter. He hit on seven of eight passes for 69 yards and a touchdown during that series, capping it with an accurate touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to Mike Gesicki.
"I want to continue to do that," Jones said during his press conference when asked about the end of the game, "and make people believe."
Jones has been vulnerable -- publicly so -- in recent weeks as he and the Patriots offense struggled. He stepped to the podium after games or during his scheduled Wednesday press conferences and acknowledged it when things weren't going well. He took ownership of the situation and spoke about how he wanted to help get things turned around.
His hours in the facility, teammates would tell, have been as long as ever while the Patriots had their issues. Any problems the Patriots experienced offensively were not because of a lack of effort on their quarterback's end, they would say.
"I don't think a lot of the talk and stuff that happens with him is fair, honestly," Gesicki said after the game. "I think he's done an unbelievable job kind of blocking all that out. I think he's done an unbelievable job, internally, leading us throughout all that adversity.
"Today, you know, back against the wall -- and you hear all the talk about us, 'With a chance to win the game, we can't close,' and all that kind of stuff. Today, we had a chance. And he stood in there and delivered play after play after play. Ultimately we won the game, off of several big plays, but off of a great ball by him. Really happy for him, and just excited for this to ultimately propel us forward."
While no one will be confusing the Patriots for Super Bowl contenders after this victory over the Bills, a little confidence can go a long way. Especially, one would think, for a quarterback who's been so frequently under duress and mistake-prone this season that it appeared at times in the last month like his confidence was sapped.
Not Sunday.
"I’ll always believe in myself," Jones said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself. And I’m not going to sit up here and say it every time. But I do believe in myself. And I do that through work and all that stuff. That’s why football’s the greatest team sport. It’s the quarterback, you go as your quarterback goes. So for me, just continuing to be the same guy every day and just be Mac."
It was Jones' first game-winning fourth-quarter drive since early in his rookie season against the Texans. He was asked what felt different about Sunday's finish when compared to other tight games at the end.
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"Yeah, when you look at all of them -- I’ve looked at all of them a lot -- there’s a lot of things that go on around (me), and I have to continue to focus on my job and continuing to read the plays how I’m supposed to," he said. "Just lower my pulse and go out there and execute. I think that’s what I told the guys in the huddle, ‘Just take a deep breath and let’s go do it, right?’
"Half of it’s just belief. And the other half is execution."
There's that word again.
Belief means something right now to the Patriots, and their quarterback in particular. For years, that non-negotiable element of successful teams may have been taken for granted, because what reason was there not to believe when things were going historically well for the better part of two decades?
The formula is relatively simple: Play well and that feeling will follow.
The Patriots had both execution and belief for the better part of a 60-minute burst on Sunday, and Belichick was eager to remind them after.
The question now is, if they want to make something of their season, for how long can they sustain No. 1 and allow No. 2 to occur organically?