Vereen was the star of Sunday's win over the Broncos.
FOXBOROUGH – Shane Vereen didn't want to talk about his breakout performance against the Denver Broncos.
That game is over. Those 124 yards and three touchdowns are in the books. The running back is no looking forward to figure out how he can make his mark in Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.
But two lockers to his right, one of his teammates remained elated over the performance.
It was awesome. Three touchdowns? That's a great day for anybody at the office," Stevan Ridley said. "How much happier can you be for a guy who a lot of people counted out?
"A lot of people said that they didn't know he could play. We've known that Shane ... it's not a secret for us. Other people may have looked him over but we haven't."
Vereen, a 2011 second-round pick, was something of an unknown until breaking out breaking out for 133 yards and a touchdown against the Jets on Thanksgiving. But that performance appeared to be an aberration as he failed to top 40 total yards in the six following games.
But he showed Sunday what he can do in a bigger role after Danny Woodhead went down with a thumb injury on the first play of the game. Now Ridley, like many fans, is excited to see what Vereen can do next.
"That's what I've said about this room all year," Ridley said. "It's a bunch of young guys that love to play ball and are waiting for an opportunity.
"I saw a great day. I saw one of the best days out of a football player. Happy he's my teammate, my next-door neighbor, my draft classmate. I'm happy for him. I really was happy. It's the next man up. We're not overlooking anybody."