Patriots Player Spotlight: Spillane Sparks Patriots’ Win vs Browns

Joseph McLaughlin
2 hours ago
3 min read

Photo Caption: Patriots Linebacker Robert Spillane carrying the football after his interception against the Cleveland Browns on October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Brian Fluharty/Imagn-Images

Foxboro, MA — After the New England Patriots extended their halftime lead over the Cleveland Browns to 16-7, the Browns found themselves backed up on a 3rd & 7 on the ensuing drive. With the ball placed at the Cleveland 33-yard line, rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel took the snap.

Gabriel dropped back, hoping to find his tight end, David Njoku, for a much-needed first down conversion. However, he threw the ball behind him into the waiting arms of Patriots Linebacker Robert Spillane, who intercepted the pass and returned the ball to the six-yard line.

“We were blitzing, I was covering the back,” said Spillane about the play. “They picked up in protection, so that kind of lets me roam and be a free read on the quarterback player. I'm looking for anything from the field, coming back shallow. Nothing came back shallow, so I was able to make a play on the ball. Our rush did a great job getting home, giving me the opportunity to make a play.”

The Patriots' captain made a huge impact defensively for the Patriots, getting five solo tackles and nine assisted tackles on top of his second interception of the season. His efforts kept the Browns’ offense off the field, setting up the Patriots to open the game up in the second half.

“We come to prepare every day,” said Spillane of the defense. “I'm really proud of how our guys work. We got a room full of blue-collar guys who come into work to get better each and every day, whether it's win, lose, or draw. We're going to continue to get better each week we get out here.”

“Taking advantage of the turnovers is huge,” said Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel. “Certainly one on third down there with Spillane and then the long one there that Hawk had. We've got to take care of the ball better and continue to find opportunities. They hadn't turned it over, and then when their gimmick plays ran out, I thought we played pretty good defense.”

Spillane was acquired in the offseason on March 13, 2025, as an unrestricted free agent. Spillane played for the Tennessee Titans in his rookie season in 2018 before joining Pittsburgh and later Las Vegas. Now the former Western Michigan Bronco finds himself as a veteran defensive leader who has shown up consistently every week and inspires the rest of the defense to do the same.

“We have a room full of guys that view themselves as impact players, view themselves as game-changing players, and that's where it starts,” said Spillane. “If you don't believe that you're going to be a game-changing player, you never will be. We have a room full of guys that want to go out there and make plays, want to help this team win. We're just going to continue to come together, mesh together, and try to be the best defense we can be.”

Spillane has made 67 total tackles this season, 35 solo and 32 assisted, along with a forced fumble, a sack, and two interceptions. He had the best season of his career in Las Vegas a year ago, but is already on pace to match it here in New England.

The saying goes that defense wins championships. That word has not been thought about in New England since Tom Brady’s final season in a Patriot uniform in 2019. It is still far off to think about the Patriots contending for a championship, but with players like Spillane and a defense that has worked hard to give a red-hot offense more possession time, the Patriots have a shot to shock the football world and announce their return to championship contention.

Spillane has been a solid leader for the team and has backed it up with great plays. The Patriots aim to take that with them into their next home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. New England will have a chance to win its sixth consecutive game and have its best nine-game start since their 2019 campaign, where it went 8-1 in the first nine weeks. Kickoff for this Sunday’s game against the Falcons will be at 1:00 p.m. at Gillette Stadium.