Patriots head coach BillBelichick, often known for his lukewarm handshakes after losses, not only sought out Sean Payton, but Drew Brees for congratulations when the final gun sounded.

He also praised the Saints after the game in every way he could.

'It wasn't as competitive of a game as we needed it to be. Sean did a lot better job than I did. You have to give them a lot of credit, they're a good football team, but that doesn't lessen the hurt on our side. We have a lot of work to do to compete with a team of this caliber. They're a lot better than us.'

Quarterback Tom Brady echoed the sentiment on the Saints.

'They're a great team and we didn't play so well. There's obviously a big gap between us.'

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