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Six months ago, most people were hoping the Patriots would potentially be a more improved and less frustrating football team than they had been the previous two seasons.
The goal was that they’d be more disciplined, better prepared, and a group that would simply be a less disappointing version than we’d seen here in New England after two straight 4-13 seasons.
It’s safe to say that head coach Mike Vrabel has more than exceeded those expectations.
From the time he arrived here last January, it just felt different. Vrabel laid out his plans during his opening press conference, making it clear that players would “earn the right to be here every day” and that he planned to “remove entitlement” from the team. He also gave his vision for what he wanted his team to be, with one sentence from his opening press conference standing out as players spoke following Sunday’s game.
“My dad was a basketball coach and assistant football coach, and he taught me what it was to be tough, to work hard, and to embrace being part of a team, and loving being part of a team, and how powerful that can be,” said Vrabel.
That statement couldn’t be more true. This Patriots team doesn’t have much star power, but collectively as a unit, they haven’t lost since early December and just won their 17th game of the year after beating Denver 10-7 to advance to the Super Bowl. Now they’ll join Seattle among the final two teams still playing football in two weeks after the other 30 came up short.
The reason? That powerful factor that Vrabel spoke about. These are men who enjoy who they come to work with each day, and even more importantly, they love the guy who has been a key reason why they’ve gotten to this point.
“He helped us build this identity that he speaks of. He held everybody to the same standard,” said Stefon Diggs after the game. “Something I’m super thankful for. I realized that it starts at the head [coach]. When you hold everybody to the same standard and you hold everybody to the same requirements each and every day, you hold your teammates accountable. You start looking at your teammates like self-policing, self-accountability, and you don’t want to let your teammates down. So the camaraderie and the team chemistry that he’s built from the coaching position, the head coach position, is second to none.”
“Hopefully, he wins Coach of the Year. Because [he’s] probably the best coach I’ve ever had.”
Those are big words coming from an 11-year veteran. But Diggs has been around and seen some things, and he knows that what Vrabel has built here in New England is special.
Sunday’s game wasn’t easy, and it certainly could have gone a different way. Denver got up early after Jarrett Stidham took a deep shot downfield and connected on a 52-yard bomb that led to the Broncos’ first points of the game. That fired up a Denver crowd that believed in their own coach, Sean Payton, to help Stidham overcome the loss of Bo Nix and push Denver to the finish line.
Instead, Vrabel’s team did something the Patriots had never done, and that was beat the Broncos in Denver in the postseason. Coming into the game, New England had been 0-4 all-time and 0-3 even with Tom Brady at the helm, so it felt like it was a tall ask for a team that had already exceeded expectations.
But Vrabel’s club ended up being the more disciplined group and the one that made fewer mistakes on Sunday, which ultimately allowed them to advance.
It’s a significant change from a year ago. In 2024, the majority of games saw opponents pull away in the second half after New England’s defense found themselves outcoached and out of position, leading to questions about how good they truly were after a season where they had been a top 10 defense in 2023.
After overhauling some key positions on that side of the football, along with this new coaching staff, the story has been drastically different. Both Vrabel and linebackers coach Zak Kuhr, who stepped in for defensive coordinator Terrell Williams as he continues his cancer battle, have been outstanding all season and Sunday was yet another example. That 52-yard play by Denver was the only big play of the afternoon, and New England’s defense flipped the script and became the story of the day after they set the tone and never let up.
“Shout out to Vrabe’s and the coaching staff,” said Christian Gonzalez, who made the game-sealing interception for New England on Sunday. “They get us in the right positions and the right calls and get us ready to go for Sundays.”
That’s quietly been a big key to this run. There’s never been any panic. There’s instead been a quiet confidence and a feeling of inevitability that, regardless of what happens, unlike in the past, the end result will see them come out on the right side of any given match-up.
When you have the trust and belief in the coaches leading the way and the guys around you in the locker room, that’s indeed a powerful thing. It’s also a big reason why we haven’t seen a domino effect when opposing offenses have come up with a big play, because it’s become a group that’s so good at turning the page and moving on to the next play.
It’s also why this team feels like it can hang with anyone, and it’s why they’re now moving on for one final time this season.
“Resilient, mainly,” said Diggs when asked to describe this team. “We went against the top defenses in the league for the past couple of weeks. It was easy to count us out during the regular season and give a million excuses as to why not. But here we are, standing firm as a team and as a unit, banding together, finding ways to win.”
“It’s hard to find ways to win, especially in the postseason. They’re never going to look good. We ended up 10-7 this week, but the object of the game is to score more than the opponent.”
“I told you a long time ago,” added Diggs. “I’ll take an ugly win before I take a pretty loss.”
Hopefully, Vrabel’s team has one more win left in them when they take the field in two weeks.
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