It has always been interesting how the Patriots approached "meaningless" games and special teams. In both cases they put the personnel on the field that gives them the best opportunity to win. I am not quite old enough to remember Vince Lombardi, who is reported to often have repeated the phrase 'Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing"
I suspect the Packers did not rest players before the playoffs. I suspect Bellichek thinks that it provided his team some psychological advantage, more than worrying about them being rusty. Patriots certainly didn't intentionally miss out on a playoff bye to avoid getting rusty.
Like Tom Brady, Josh Allen carries his offense and likely covers up potential weaknesses that may be more obvious if he is not playing. Not really sure if this is true, but if it is, it is a fairly compelling reason to play your game as you normally would.
the deniers probably just weren't invited to the good parties.