FOXBORO, Mass. — Four days after one of the greatest statistical performances of his career, Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said he's feeling "100 percent fresh" and didn't care about the stats.
Wilfork had 11 tackles (nine solo) and one sack during the Patriots' 31-24 victory against the Colts. It was the second-most tackles of his NFL career — he had 12 against the Bills in 2005 — and it was the seventh time he's had double-digit stops during his eight seasons in New England.
It was the first time since the fourth game of his rookie season that he's had at least 10 tackles and one sack in the same game. Wilfork's nine solo tackles are an official career high, though he also had nine solo stops in the 2009 playoff loss to the Ravens.
Wilfork has never been a statistical juggernaut because he has typically been asked to take on multiple blockers in order to free up more space for his teammates to make plays. On Sunday, he seemed to play more 3-technique than at any other point in the season, and he usually makes more plays when he's split out wider along the line, which almost certainly played into his best statistical performance.
But at the end of the day, Wilfork didn't particularly care about that.
"My goal is to win," Wilfork said. "That's my biggest goal. I care less about myself, and stats and stuff like that. My goal is to do what I can to help this ball club."
