The hits on the New England Patriots' lackluster showing in the Super Bowl keep on coming. Like Rodney Dangerfield said, "(they) don't get no respect, no respect at all." Analyst after analyst, citing a tougher schedule and other reasons, are consigning the Patriots to the dustbin of the 2026 season. Bleacher Report thinks they are just 11th in the pecking order in trying to dethrone the Seahawks.
That's a precipitous drop from being in the Super Bowl to 12th in the pecking order. No doubt, a drop isn't an unrealistic eventuality. The Patriots benefited from a weaker 2025 schedule thanks to their dreadful 4-13 record in 2024. Yet, there were two clear reasons for their ascendance.
The two main reasons were Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye. They are still the foundation of an ongoing success story. But there's a lot of work to be done by Vrabel in the 2026 offseason if he's to brush off Bleacher Report's prediction.
Mike Vrabel has to replicate the Patriots' successful 2025 offseason
If Vrabel is to dispel the negativity surrounding his team, he faces a daunting task in the 2026 offseason. The NFL's Coach of the Year, who had a claim on the Executive of the Year award, as well, must come close to duplicating what he did in the 2025 offseason.
The 2025 Super Bowl team was both built and coached by Vrabel. He transformed a bottom-of-the-NFL 2024 roster into a Super Bowl team in one offseason. It was a masterpiece of personnel management. If there are any doubts about whether he was the reason, simply compare and contrast the 2024 and 2025 off-seasons.
The 2024 version was a total flop (absent the no-brainer drafting of Maye), and 2025 was an almost unprecedented success.
Nevertheless, Bleacher Report thinks the Patriots are only an outside threat to dethrone the Seahawks in 2026.
"Why they're a threat
They just played Seattle in Super Bowl LX, and they should be on the rise with third-year reigning MVP runner-up Drake Maye surrounded by plenty of young talent.
Potential obstacles
They rode the easiest schedule in the league to that Super Bowl, got embarrassed in said game, and it's entirely possible they come crashing back to earth with a target on their back in 2026...
The Bottom Line
Buffalo reclaims the AFC East and the still-flawed Patriots are exposed ... as they were in the Super Bowl. They'll be a one-and-done wild-card team at best, but they make this list because they're the reigning AFC champs."
They feel the Bills will again rule the roost and take the AFC East title. They could be right. Buffalo is a more-seasoned team, though the gap is narrowing. And they do have former MVP quarterback Josh Allen on hand, though, unlike Maye, he hasn't been in a Super Bowl.
How Mike Vrabel can dispose of Bleacher Report's prediction
If Mike Vrabel is to prove Bleacher Report and other skeptics wrong, it all centers on his 2026 offseason. The team has two top priorities to improve. The first is the offensive line, which was clearly a stopgap in 2025.
Though four starters were replaced, Vrabel still needs to go heavily in free agency and the draft to bring in better talent.
Two or three starters will remain. They are left tackle Will Campbell and probable 2026 center Jared Wilson, who played left guard in 2025. Both will start. The right guard, veteran Mike Onwenu, had a solid season in 2025. But absent a contract restructuring, he should be released (it would save $17.5M in cap space) or traded. He's paid $25M, tackle money. He's not worth that much.
Vrabel needs to draft a right guard and also a successor to the soon-to-be 35-year-old Morgan Moses. He had a solid season, but his replacement should be drafted early in the 2026 draft. That's three new potential starters on an O-line that surrendered 47 regular-season sacks and a mind-boggling 21 in the playoffs.
Sacks were the primary reason the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. They gave up six and got one. That stat was the difference (along with two costly Patriots' turnovers). They need to add sack-producers. Pressures and hits are OK, but not difference-makers.
Trading for a top pass rusher like Maxx Crosby makes perfect sense, even if the cost is high.
One of their best pass-rushers, K'Lavon Chaisson, is also a free agent. If he leaves, the need is even greater. Vrabel needs to add at least two top new sack producers. There are other needs, too. But the bottom line is that Vrabel has to repeat his otherworldly 2025 offseason if he's to disprove Bleacher Report's prediction. And that's not going to be easy.