There was a lot to take away from the Patriots' Week 1 loss to the Seahawks, with the primary feeling being frustration for several reasons. One of the main talking points in the days that followed was what many were calling a conservative game plan by Josh McDaniels, which many fans took issue with, even after seeing Drake Maye's brutal mistakes that cost them the game.
For much of the night, the play caller insisted on running the ball on first down, despite the running backs having little to no space created by the offensive line and a defensive front ready to shut them down if they could break through.
On top of that, Maye didn't get many chances to air it out, a trait that he is known for being really good at, until late in the game when they were playing catch-up. And because of that, McDaniels has been under fire for the past week.
It's not entirely shocking, given many analysts and fans weren't thrilled that he was rehired in the first place. But last season, he showed some dynamism in his playcalling after being away from the NFL for a few years.
We haven't seen much of that yet, but in the meantime, Mike Vrabel is coming to his coach's defense, and hopefully McDaniels will prove him right as soon as this weekend against the Steelers.
Mike Vrabel defends Josh McDaniels' game plan against the Seahawks
During his weekly appearance on WEEI earlier this week, Vrabel was quickly asked about concerns about the Patriots' offensive game plan and whether he agreed it was conservative.
Unsurprisingly, the head coach didn't necessarily agree and emphasized that they tried everything they could in the game, but it just didn't work, so it shouldn't be chalked up to a scared game plan, especially since they shot themselves in the foot with costly mistakes.
“I don’t look at things as conservative. That’s what we felt like was best against this defense.
We didn’t hit some things, and you have to be able to run the football against split safety defense. That’s no secret. You don’t play split safety defense to stop the run; they play it to not give up big plays. We tried to hit some shots down the field.
We threw it to the running backs a couple times for 12 or 15 yards when they were all off there, and on the interception should have thrown it to the back again for a third time. You just can’t get bored doing things right. If it’s not there it’s not there.”
There are plenty of reasons not to like what we saw from the Patriots' offense last week, and they'll need to make some big improvements to have a legitimate shot at beating the Steelers on Sunday.
But Vrabel isn't wrong; much of what the offense did was better than what they did in the Super Bowl, which is why the final score was just 13-10. They might still have lost, but it wasn't a blowout like it almost was just seven months ago.
The offensive line was better, and the receiving corps had a lot of potential to improve as well, until A.J. Brown went down with an injury, which helped ensure they fared even a smidge better than in the championship game.
As for how the Patriots will approach their next matchup against the Steelers, Vrabel isn't too concerned about changing their preparation.
“Every game is different, every defense is different. We all sit down, we game-plan. Josh game-plans with his staff; each guy has an area. I’ll sit in with those. I think to look and say, ‘Well, this guy, this team put up number…’ — we didn’t win the game.”
Maybe that's a good thing, or maybe it'll prove to be a mistake. We won't know until the end of the Week 2 game.
However, based on how this team played in the 2025 season, it's premature to jump to conclusions about what Josh McDaniels is doing or what this offense can be; they deserve more time to develop their identity this season.
Writing them off after one game, in Week 1, for that matter, is just asking to feel defeated and look for someone to blame. The Patriots still have plenty of time to play better, and they can start with a stronger performance against the Steelers at Gillette Stadium this weekend.
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