Looking at the 2026 Patriots after three games is a sobering reminder of how far they have fallen since ending last year in the Super Bowl. The team has countless problems, especially Drake Maye's regression, and how they fix it will determine their immediate and long-term future.
That means we'll hear calls for the quarterback to be benched and replaced, with a lot of blame placed on Josh McDaniels and a number of other players, and maybe even some heat on Mike Vrabel despite being the reigning Coach of the Year.
He's in for a challenge this season, as the Patriots fall to 1-2 going into their road game against the Bills, and based on how things looked this past Sunday against the Jaguars, there's not much optimism about their chances.
It was a deflating game all around; nothing seemed to work, not even the defense that had just held the Steelers to only 3 points.
But the offense remains the biggest concern overall, with the right side of the offensive line already struggling without Mike Onwenu. We saw that with Morgan Moses, who was eventually taken out later in the game, and Mike Vrabel spoke about it in a way that will surely bother Patriots fans.
It's not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear from your head coach.
Mike Vrabel got a little too honest about his decision to take out Morgan Moses vs. the Jaguars
After the embarrassing loss on Sunday, Vrabel spoke to reporters and was asked about taking Moses out of the game, despite being the lone seasoned veteran on the offensive line.
Vrabel was candid with his response, maybe too candid, and his thoughts on the Patriots' chances at that point won't sit well with fans.
“I just made a decision, you know what I mean? It’s a long season. Morgan is [35]. I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t think we were going to come back and win the game, as much as I wished that we were; I didn’t think that we were. So, I made a decision.”
On tape, Moses struggled mightily in this game, and if the Patriots had better depth at tackle, they probably should have taken him out much sooner. But that isn't the biggest or most alarming takeaway from what Vrabel said.
The fact that he admitted that he didn't think they were going to win the game is astonishing, not because the Patriots still had a chance or were close to getting back in the game, but because that's not usually something a head coach will admit to the press or the fans, no matter how true it might be.
That's not the kind of attitude the Patriots were known for during the dynasty, even if they had virtually no chance of recovering and winning. It wasn't their mindset in Super Bowl LI when they were down 28-3 in the third quarter, and it's that mentality that helped them make the comeback of the century to win their fifth Lombardi Trophy.
Obviously, a Week 3 game is nowhere near as important as a Super Bowl, but the team's mentality shouldn't differ that dramatically. So hearing Vrabel make that kind of admission surely won't quiet the noise around this team's toughness and whether he's really the right guy to lead them.
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