Getty Images

The effort to rebuild the shattered confidence of the Patriots players began immediately after Monday night’s 41-14 loss to the Chiefs.

Per a league source, veteran defensive tackle Vince Wilfork addressed the players in the locker room after the game, urging them to remember that the season is still young and to set aside any individual concerns or issues. Wilfork, who rarely speaks to the team as a group, told the players that the team has plenty of talent, and that very good things could still happen.

Wilfork expressed “full confidence” in the team on Thursday, via the Boston Globe. Quarterback Tom Brady also echoed that sentiment to Albert Breer of NFL Media on Friday.

“It’s a competitive group,” Brady told Breer. “We’re not gonna back down to anybody or anything. We’ve all been challenged in our life at different times. And I think this is gonna show, over the next few months, what we’re made of.”

The process starts tonight against the Bengals, in a game that many think Cincinnati will win.