The Patriots kick off their 2025 season by welcoming the Las Vegas Raiders to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, which should be a thrilling matchup between two teams on similar paths. There are a lot of connections between the franchises, but none more prominent than Josh McDaniels returning to Foxboro after being fired by the Raiders in 2023.
That will surely prompt a lot of conversation throughout the matchup, adding even more pressure for the Patriots to walk out with a win and start the year off on the right foot.
The 2024 season began with a win under the new leadership of Jerod Mayo and his inexperienced coaching staff. The team shocked the NFL world by stealing a win against the Bengals on the road, and it appeared as though the Mayo era could be far better than predicted.
Ironically, it wouldn't be too outlandish to say that fans should want to see Mike Vrabel imitate Mayo in this game, but only in the way of ending the afternoon 1-0.
Patriots fans should want Mike Vrabel to start the season like Jerod Mayo did last year
There's not a whole lot about Mayo's tenure that Patriots fans should want to see replicated this year, and Vrabel has already done a good job at ensuring that hasn't happened. And while that should remain moving forward, ending Week 1 with a win, just like Mayo did last year, would be an excellent start for the new regime to begin the season.
Although the Raiders aren't exactly the same caliber as the Bengals were or are at this point, they are still a team with impressive talent in multiple areas that will give the Patriots problems throughout the day.
From TE Brock Bowers and RB Ashton Jeanty on offense to Maxx Crosby on defense, it's going to be far from an easy day for the young Patriots team. However, there is far more comfort going into this game than fans felt just one year ago, as things were already beginning to fall apart under Mayo before the summer even ended.
The hope is that they will play far better than they did in the season opener last year, but still walk out victorious. There's a reason Vrabel has been the sole reason some analysts believe this New England team could surprise the league this year and potentially make the playoffs as a wild-card team.
They could make that path a whole lot easier by showing just how much they have improved over the last year and going into a tough matchup against the Dolphins in Miami next week with a check in the win column.