Why Anfernee Jennings was an ‘easy pick’ to be a Patriots game captain in the AFC Championship

In addition to their six full-season captains, the New England Patriots have named a 'game captain' for each of their 19 games this season. That rotating spot has gone to a different player each week, picked by the coaching staff.

"I've always kind of liked to have a game captain of somebody that's worked through something, was going back to his hometown or played well," head coach Mike Vrabel explained when asked about the game captain role at the beginning of the year. "There's different reasons for that."

Vrabel hasn't always publicly announced the game captain before the game, but that was the case this week. Asked how he feels edge rusher Anfernee Jennings has played in recent games, Vrabel shared Jennings will hold that role for the AFC Championship, and why he is an ideal fit.

"[He's played] really well. He's going to be a game captain and that's deservedly so," Vrabel said. "The professionalism that he's shown throughout this entire season - appreciate it. I appreciate him taking advantage of his opportunities, playing physical, playing on special teams, finding a role. That was [an] easy pick for me this week."

Jennings, a 2020 third-round pick who is tied with guard Mike Onwneu as the longest-tenured member of the team, has truly earned the trust and respect of the coaching staff this year. Back in training camp he was not involved much with the starting or second units, and based on that appeared to be a cut or trade candidate as the new staff looked to overhaul the roster.

However midway through camp and into the preseason he was playing at a high level which saw him shoot up the depth chart. Playing too well to cut Jennings made the initial roster and after being inactive for Week 1 has made an impact for the Patriots in multiple phases this season.

He's played a core special teams role and his defensive usage has increased over the course of the season due to injuries and other personnel changes. In 12 games he finished the season with 26 tackles including five for a loss, and two sacks. He's added two more sacks in the playoffs, with his defensive snap count shooting up to over 60%, compared to 27.5% in the regular season.

"It feels good. Just being able to represent the team, being a captain means a lot," Jennings said later on Friday when asked what it meant to him to get this distinction for this big game. "Just looking forward to going out there, and going to war with my guys."

"It means a lot," Jennings added when asked about getting the recognition after the season that he has had. "Just put my head down and worked to control what I can control, and, just trying to do my job and help the team win in any way I can. We at this point, it's a blessing. But nothing changed. I still want to help my team win and put my best foot forward and go out and just have fun with the guys."

Vrabel has made announcing each week's game captain a fixture of Friday meetings. He'll put the player's high school highlights on the screen, and the team tries to guess who it is. With Jennings this week, he threw them a bit of a curveball.

"It happens during meetings. So he usually put up high school highlights, and - today it was mine. And he kind of lets the players figure out, try to figure out who it is," Jennings recalled. "I already knew who it was, obviously. Other guys didn't because it was - I think he pulled up one where I was at Wildcat quarterback and threw a touchdown and everybody was like, 'who is that?' Then they seen it was me."

In addition to being a game captain, Jennings could also be in for an increased role on defense in this game. Earlier on Friday, Vrabel announced edge rusher Harold Landry will miss this game with a knee injury. Jennings was on the field considerably more last week, when Landry was limited to just 11 snaps.