He's recognized as a force

FOXBOROUGH -- Tedy Bruschi got an arm around Mike Vrabel, his fellow linebacker and recent recipient of a vicious knee to the head from an onrushing Lion, and gently steered him toward the Patriots sideline. He had an important question to ask, and wanted to make sure his dazed friend wasn't veering off in the direction of the opposition: "Nice pick," Bruschi said. "Do you know my name?"

"I will always know who Tedy is," Vrabel said with a smile after New England's 28-21 win over Detroit.

Able to laugh and even joke in the locker room after the game, Vrabel appeared to have shaken off the hit, which occurred after he had come down with his second interception of the game -- tying a career high -- on a ball Lions quarterback Jon Kitna appeared to just fling in the air on the first play after the two-minute warning.

"I got my bell rung," Vrabel said. "Guy got me in the head with his knee. I just remember the ball in the air and then being in the locker room. I think we got good pressure on the passer. He threw it up for grabs and I tried to go up and get it and tried to come down and save the ball and keep possession."

A stunned crowd and equally stunned teammates watched in silence as Vrabel lay curled on the ground at the Lions' 35-yard line. He had just sealed the game, but it seemed no one realized anything beyond the injury that had felled the versatile linebacker. He limped off the field, with Bruschi's aid, and all that was left for the Patriots to do was to take a knee -- and find out how badly Vrabel was injured.

Not too badly, it turned out, as Richard Seymour finally discovered when he saw him after the game. Vrabel was in the locker room at 4:30, got dressed, and appeared to be walking and talking normally as he answered questions.

That's good for the Patriots -- not just for the sake of Vrabel -- because, after the season-ending injury to Junior Seau against the Bears, the team has a sharp drop-off after the four starting linebackers. Past Bruschi, Vrabel, Rosevelt Colvin, and Tully Banta-Cain stand Pierre Woods, Don Davis, and Larry Izzo, who have made their names primarily as a special teams players.

New England cannot afford to lose another player at the position. Especially not Vrabel, who has been able to adapt back to the inside spot he manned in the absence of Bruschi last year, trading his sacks for interceptions.

"I don't know if there's another player around that can really go from outside linebacker to inside linebacker like he can," Bruschi said. "Incredible football knowledge coupled with athletic ability. That's what he is. For him to be able to do that, outside and inside, they're two different worlds. I think he may be the only person in the league who can do that."

Or certainly one of a very few.

It was a point made even more apparent with his two interceptions, both of which came at crucial moments of the fourth quarter. After the Patriots tied the score at 21 with 8:35 to go, Vrabel stole a pass from Kitna on the second play of the ensuing Lions drive. Kitna's 21-yard pass had opened their possession, bringing the Lions to the New England 49-yard line. It was then that Vrabel crossed over the middle of the field, the ball coming straight into his arms, though it had been intended for tight end Dan Campbell.

But the ball would go back to the Lions after a Benjamin Watson fumble. And back to the Patriots after a Colvin strip sack. Then, once Tom Brady marched the Patriots to the touchdown that would win the game, Vrabel came up with his second interception, the one that left him down and his teammates fearful.

"We can't lose a player like Mike," safety Artrell Hawkins said. "He had a huge game today. Just one of those guys, he's a leader on and off the field. I was scared when he went down. He made a great play, he got hurt on a great play. Yeah, it was a scary moment, but he's fine."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.