Jabrill Peppers delivered emotional locker room speech after Patriots beat Bills

BOSTON -- For a long time, the player to rally the team after a victory in the Patriots' locker room has been Matthew Slater. The special teams captain still has that role, but Jabrill Peppers served as the warmup act on Sunday.

"Hey, Slate," Peppers said to Slater, in a locker room video shared by the team, "before you go ahead. Hey, fellas. That's how you respond, man. The character of a man is not what you do when in times of comfort but how we respond in adversity, man. Way to not flinch, way to not waver, man. That's how you win a game."

For a player in just his second year with the team, Peppers certainly has settled in to a leadership role in the locker room.

Peppers, who made a game-changing play on the Bills' first offensive snap by picking off a Josh Allen pass to help the Patriots get out to a 10-0 lead, was emotional from the moment he stepped in the locker room. He greeted owner Robert Kraft by saying, "Every week! Every week, baby!" And he approached rookie receiver Demario "Pop" Douglas to say, "Welcome home. Welcome to the league, Pop!"

After Bill Belichick and Peppers spoke, Slater finally addressed the team and replaced the typical "aw yeah" celebration with a new twist.

"What I saw today was not individuals, was not a team. I saw a family," Slater said. "And we can do something with that, fellas. It ain't gonna be no 'aw yeahs' today. It's family on three."