The New England Patriots, after a devastating loss to the Buffalo Bills, still sit on top of the AFC East with an 11-3 record. While a playoff season and more were predicted for the now Mike Vrabel-led team, expectations of 11-plus wins would have been extremely ambitious.
Regardless, that's where the team stands, and it's largely attributable to Vrabel, who has received an A grade from Bleacher Report for his coaching, and to his quarterback, Drake Maye.
Vrabel deserves that and more. Not only has he coached a 50 percent reconstructed squad to 11 wins thus far and an almost certain playoff spot, but he was also the prime mover in assembling that squad. Vrabel's fingerprints were all over free agency and the draft. The contrast between 2024's offseason and this year's was pronounced.
Bleacher Report commented on his coaching, and it has been terrific. He was a favorite in some circles to be hired, and he has justified owner Robert Kraft's faith in the former Patriot Super Bowl-winning player and those of any supportive outside observers, as well. While he hasn't been perfect, an 11-3 record following two successive 4-13 seasons speaks for itself.
Mike Vrabel is still a contender for NFL Coach of the Year
While a Buffalo victory at Gillette Stadium would have nailed down the AFC East title and probably an NFL Coach of the Year award, as well, for Mike Vrabel, there are still three games left for the coach to cement his status as the best in the league.
Recent rankings of the 2025 NFL's new Head Coaches by Moe Moton of Bleacher Report have the New England Patriots Head Coach tied with Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars with an A grade.
"A proven head coach from his time with the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel knows how to build a staff and team culture. He hired offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who's in his third stint with the team, to develop second-year quarterback Drake Maye, and the relationship is yielding strong results...
Vrabel, a former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, has helped develop a stout defense with a strong class of free-agent acquisitions. New England ranks seventh in points and yards allowed..."
No doubt, Coen is a strong competitor for the top coaching award. The Jags lead the strong AFC South by a game over the Texans. Should the Patriots falter as they did in 2021 when they had the AFC East and the top seed in the AFC in hand before kicking both away at the finish, then Coen will likely win the prize.
Yet, a strong last three Patriots games and an AFC East title may give Vrabel the nod.
The Patriots and Mike Vrabel have a lot at stake in their final 3 games
Losing to Buffalo was costly. It would have locked up the Patriots' first AFC East title post-Tom Brady. It was a massive opportunity lost, at home. And to further tarnish the loss, the team had blown a 21-0 lead. Now the final three games will test both Varbel's and the team's mettle.
The team faces a strong Baltimore Ravens team bolstered by the now-returned-to-play MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, and monster running back, Derrick Henry Jr. They will challenge any team, any time.
Unfortunately, the Patriots' defense failed to lock down a winnable game against running quarterback Josh Allen and his running back, James Cook III. Jackson is a better runner than Allen. Failure to keep him and Henry contained will result in a similar losing effort.
This is not a basketball game. Yet, Mike Vrabel, his quarterback Drake Maye, and his defense will have to rebound if the team is to meet the objectives of locking down a playoff spot and winning the AFC East. A similar performance to that against Buffalo will likely result in the team losing the division title.
The Buffalo game was a litmus test of whether the Patriots had the right stuff to just knock the Bills right off the AFC East pinnacle for 2025. They failed. Now, it's on Vrabel, his coaching staff, Maye, and the 2025 squad to change the equation and take a big win out of Baltimore. If they do, the wind will have shifted in their favor.
If not, it could begin a 2021-like tumble to the NFL's version of obscurity.