The 2025 NFL regular season is upon us. The New England Patriots will introduce a new era in Foxborough under the guidance and tutelage of Mike Vrabel. The ownership finally made a decision that made sense in hiring Mike Vrabel as head coach and top personnel evaluator to take charge at Gillette Stadium. Everything has changed.
He took the horse by the reins and began transforming a roster lacking in playmakers into a competitive NFL team. The changes came in bunches as players who didn't fit his vision of the 2025 Patriots, including all six 2024 captains, were released for multiple reasons, ranging from being misfits in his schemes to just being underproductive or overpaid.
Vrabel has set his sights on dethroning the Buffalo Bills from the top of the AFC East and returning the Patriots to their rightful place. Nothing will deflect him from accomplishing that difficult but eminently doable goal. Mike Vrabel is a man on a mission, and he's already created a winning culture at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots under Mike Vrabel are headed to the top
Each NFL game is a stepping stone toward one goal, making the playoffs, or the "Tournament" as former Patriots Head Coach Bill Parcells used to term it. If you don't, you can't challenge for the ultimate prize, winning the Lombardi Trophy. The Patriots' first game this season is against the Las Vegas Raiders.
CBS Sports' John Breech has predicted the Patriots to beat the Raiders 23-16. It's an interesting prediction for a lot of reasons. One is that the Patriots weren't favored over any team in 2024. A lot has changed to bring this about, and the hub around which all this has transpired is the new Head Coach and personnel chief, Mike Vrabel.
While a coach won't throw any passes or make any blocks (though Vrabel does seem to get involved in practice), his influence on any team can't be overstated. Having a good one is essential to winning; having one of the NFL's best is a ticket to great things. The Patriots have the latter in Mike Vrabel, a former NFL Coach of the Year in 2021.
The Patriots have to prove they're now winners on the field at Gillette Stadium
In addition to having a terrific coaching CV, Vrabel has also done a masterful job in rebuilding a worst-in-the-NFL roster in just one offseason. As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, and a Super Bowl-winning team won't be in one offseason either. But Vrabel has made a terrific start. He's built a team that can win now, while building a foundation to win it all later.
Both starting 11s have been fortified and are far better than the lackluster 2024 versions. Many of the players from the prior regime have been sent packing and replaced with Vrabel's hand-picked replacements. Only the best who fit his plans remain from 2024. The 2025 Patriots are a far better team than the 2024 one, which lost six games by only one score.
That's why they're favored to beat Las Vegas with their new Head Coach, the talented veteran Pete Carroll. Quarterback Drake Maye is now ready to soar after a rookie season that was in tatters due to having no offensive line or receivers to speak of. Both of those units have been upgraded significantly, and while they're still a work in progress, the improvement will be evident from the start.
Depth is an issue for the 2025 Patriots; it's paper-thin everywhere. There's no escaping that reality. Yet, in the first game, absent early serious injury(ies), that won't be an issue. This Patriots team is substantially rebuilt and is poised to win from the outset. That's why CBS Sports is right. They'll beat the Las Vegas Raiders.