Among the biggest problems with the Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Bills, aside from blowing a 21-point halftime lead, was the officiating. Although it's never ideal to discuss how referees may have impacted a game one way or the other, it's sometimes too big a story to ignore, and that is partly the case with this loss.
Beyond the questionable pass interference calls, one of which took away an obvious interception by Marcus Jones, there was also a noticeable lack of penalties on the Bills. Although that isn't generally unusual, Mike Vrabel noticed it, and perhaps it should have been considered a bigger issue than anyone made it out to be.
By the end of the game, the Patriots had seven accepted penalties for a loss of 65 yards, while the Bills were only slapped with two flags for a loss of 15 yards.
Vrabel was quick to point out the inconsistency across the board, and it is surely a point that Patriots fans will agree with.
Mike Vrabel doesn't gloss over the impact NFL officials had on the Patriots' loss
During his weekly appearance on WEEI, the head coach expressed his frustration over the officiating in Sunday's game, noting the inconsistency that many fans and teams have discussed over the past few years, but this game was particularly problematic in one area.
The Bills lead the NFL in holding calls, but weren't flagged once for it in the game, despite obvious instances of Patriots players being held. That was the reason Vrabel brought it up, and the same would happen to those in Buffalo if the shoe were on the other foot.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on officiating in the game vs. the Bills, via @TheGregHillShow:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 15, 2025
“They do have a difficult job. The consistency — sometimes I struggle with it. I’ll say this: the Bills lead the NFL in offensive holds, and I’ll leave it at that. That would be hard for me… pic.twitter.com/7IMSIDTJyu
Although he wasn't thrilled with how John Hussey's team oversaw the game, it's important to hear that Vrabel wasn't blaming them for the loss. They might have contributed to some of the issues, like extending Buffalo drives on third down, but there were plenty of other problems the Patriots need to fix that made it easy for them to lose.
It's crucial they make that effort this week against the Ravens, who have been on a run recently and could look to take the Patriots down on Sunday night.
They can't afford to have another game start as well as it did against the Bills, only to crumble in the second half and have to put any blame on the officials' shoulders.