Expectations for the Patriots' 2025 season were more optimistic than predicting they would be in the playoff picture by Week 7, and from what they have accomplished so far, they have certainly blown away any early hot takes with their four-game win streak. It has been impressive, and they capped it off with a dominant win over Mike Vrabel's former team on Sunday, which even caught the attention of the man who fired him from Tennessee two years ago.
Although he refused to say if facing the Titans for the first time since he was let go was considered a revenge game in his eyes, the Patriots played as if it were, wanting to secure a win for their new head coach.
It was another statement win for New England, even if the Titans are not considered a legitimate threat to most teams across the league. But that hasn't stopped people from jumping on the Patriots' bandwagon this year, as even former Titans' general manager Ran Carthon is now hyping them up.
The flourishing Patriots are now making fans out of the least expected people
There were surely going to be some interesting takeaways from the Patriots' trip to Tennessee in Week 6, given the long list of storylines to pay attention to, mostly revolving around Vrabel's return to where he coached for six years.
But none could have predicted the man who fired him from that job would be praising him two years later, even doubling down on his belief that the Patriots will make the playoffs this season.
"I'm all in with the Patriots."@RanCarthon thinks the Patriots will be a tough out in the AFC Playoffs under Mike Vrabel. pic.twitter.com/FtnTnIwblU
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 20, 2025
Maybe this is legitimate praise, or it could be somewhat of an admittance by Carthon that he regrets letting Vrabel go, considering just how far the Titans have fallen in his absence. They just fired Vrabel's replacement last week, and now they are back in the head coaching market going into next season.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are rising to the top of the league again, as they enter Week 8 atop the AFC East and hope to continue their win streak when they return home to face the Browns on Sunday.
Vrabel is a big reason for their return to relevancy, along with the impressive group of coaches he hired for his staff and the strategic decisions they made regarding upgrading the roster, especially around Drake Maye.