Over the last five years, winning has almost become a thing of the past for the Patriots, which was an unfamiliar feeling after 20 years of dominance over the rest of the league. Other than the outlier year in 2021, when they surprisingly made the playoffs, they've progressively lost more games, hitting rock bottom over the last two years with just four wins.
The expectations for this year were simply to build on previous years and, hopefully, add more wins, and through the first 9 weeks of the season, they have certainly done that. They currently lead the league with a 7-2 record, although they were close to breaking their win streak against the Falcons on Sunday.
With two turnovers by Drake Maye and a secondary struggling against explosive receiver Drake London, the Patriots were seconds away from losing. That really put their season into perspective, as heard from coaches and players after the game, and Mike Vrabel dropped the quote of the year to describe how they'll approach the rest of the year.
Mike Vrabel has all the right words to share with the Patriots about how to continue their successful season
With a big matchup against the Bucs in Week 10, the Patriots will be tested again, but hope to keep their hot streak alive and steal a win in Tampa. It would further their playoff hopes and potentially help Maye take the lead in the MVP race over Baker Mayfield, to continue their wild year.
Knowing what they're facing next and how they just fared against a good Falcons team, Vrabel shared the mindset he wants the Patriots to adopt, and it's hard not to want to run through a wall after hearing it.
Mike Vrabel: “We’re gonna learn from winning so we don’t have to learn from losing.”
— Brian Hines (@iambrianhines) November 2, 2025
Based on what we've seen so far this season, they have clearly learned from their losses and cleaned up their mistakes, leading to their current win streak, so learning from winning shouldn't be a problem.
This is a really close locker room, which hasn't been true over the last few years, and there is no lack of accountability behind closed doors. There are plenty of things that can improve as the season progresses, and there's no doubt that will happen with these coaches in charge.
We'll see if they take this close win over the Falcons to tighten up a few things before heading to Tampa, which might be their toughest battle since facing the Bills in Buffalo on primetime. They are expected to have the A-Team in the booth with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, so a lot of eyes will be on this game.
It will be a true example of what this Patriots team can become, and hopefully, they'll add another win to make it even better.