FOXBORO — There was some inherent risk involved when the Patriots signed defensive tackle Milton Williams to a four-year, $104 million contract this offseason.

Yes, Williams was coming off of a Super Bowl victory with the Eagles, and yes, he had two sacks in that 40-22 win over the Chiefs.

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But the Patriots were also signing Williams blindly. Unlike most of the Patriots’ other free-agent signings, Williams hadn’t been coached by anyone on staff.

Head coach Mike Vrabel said the Patriots dug into their pre-draft work on Williams.

“We did a lot of work on Milton coming out, like a lot of teams, but I would say that everything that we thought of him coming out is exactly what we saw in Philadelphia and then saw here,” Vrabel said. “So, I think his consistency has been really good, his leadership, and he certainly has come up in big moments.”

Williams had two more sacks in the Patriots’ wild-card round win over the Chargers on Sunday night, closing out the game by bringing down quarterback Justin Herbert on fourth-and-9 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Williams also set the tone in the first half by sacking Herbert on second-and-9 with 53 seconds left in the second quarter, giving the Patriots a chance to kick a field goal and take a 6-3 lead.

“Man, I just feel like they brought me here for a reason, and I try to show them why,” Williams said. “I feel like I did that, feel like I done that, but I want to show it more. And I’m blessed to have the opportunity.”

Williams was used as an example in a meeting this week.

Vrabel relayed to his players that there are 24 teams sitting at home right now and only eight organizations still in the hunt. The Patriots are one of them, as they get set to take on the Texans this week in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“He mentioned to us today before practice, ‘Take a look, raise your hand, who was still practicing this time last year?’ I think Milt was the only one,” quarterback Drake Maye said this week. “So, it was just eye-opening to see, man, there’s eight teams left. It’s a chance and an opportunity that we have to play a home football game and a home playoff game that matters, at times when it matters most. So, just kind of reflect on that and realize the opportunity we have, how much work we’ve done to get here and enjoy it. At the same time, he just reminded us to take advantage of it and know that we’ve got a chance.”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers fumbles as he is hit by New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams during the first quarter of the game earlier this season at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

This will be Williams’ 11th career postseason game. He was more of a role player with the Eagles but has elevated his game this season as a leader, starter and one of the Patriots’ best overall players.

Williams’ message to his teammates who have not played this deep into the playoffs before is simple.

“Doing the same thing we did last week, being consistent,” Williams said. “Be where you’re supposed to be. Go play for your teammates.”

Williams played in the Patriots’ first 11 games this season before suffering an ankle injury and being placed on injured reserve.

His absence was felt as the Patriots went from being one of the NFL’s best run defenses into one of the worst. They rebounded quickly in Williams’ return, limiting Chargers running backs to just 30 yards on 12 carries. He’s also one of the Patriots’ best and most explosive pass rushers this season, even if the raw stats don’t show it.

“He’s a leader by example,” interim defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr said Thursday. “And when he does speak up, everybody listens. He’s been to the spot that we all want to be at, as far as team goals. He knows what it looks like, and obviously, his play out there excites the guys and just add some extra energy and juice to our defense.”

The 26-year-old defensive tackle finished the season with 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one pass breakup, eight tackles for loss and eight QB hits.

He ranked as PFF’s 17th-highest graded pass-rushing defensive tackle and finished 20th with 40 total pressures, despite missing five games. He was third in PFF’s pass-rush productivity metric and 17th in pass-rush win rate.

The Patriots are going up against the league’s most ferocious defense this week in the Texans. In order to win, Williams and the Patriots defense will also need to be dominant against quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Williams has already come up big when it matters this season. The Patriots will need him to be at his best this Sunday.