Sports

Mike Vrabel first said it at halftime.

In a sideline interview on his way to the locker room, the New England Patriots coach downplayed his role in a go-ahead touchdown as the first half expired. How to explain the decision on what became a fourth down back-shoulder throw from Drake Maye to a toe-tapping Stefon Diggs?

“Players, not plays,” Vrabel told CBS. “And certainly Drake [Maye] and [Stefon] Diggs are two of our best players.”

After a 28-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vrabel repeated the phrase.

It is difficult to question the caliber of coaching job Vrabel has done in an 8-2 start for New England. With seven games to go, the Patriots have already doubled their win total from all of last season. In Vrabel’s first year as Patriots head coach, New England leaves Week 10 with a 1.5-game lead over the Buffalo Bills atop the AFC East. He’s firmly in the Coach of the Year conversation.

“We’ve got confidence in our guys,” Vrabel said. “To be able to have confidence in them and them come through, that was about players and not necessarily plays.”

And in case the point needed driving home still further, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles explained his team’s loss: “Their players made plays. Our players did not.” Bowles added that he needed to coach better.

And yet: The well-deserved praise Vrabel has received may be overshadowing another reason for the Patriots’ rapid turnaround: a massive roster overhaul. 

Vrabel and a personnel staff led by general manager Eliot Wolf have thoroughly retooled a needy roster in the 21 months since the Patriots and Bill Belichick parted ways. The impact of the post-Belichick personnel acquisitions was strong against the Buccaneers.

Selecting Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft is of course the headline acquisition of the post-Belichick era, and occurred before Vrabel returned to the club for which he had played eight seasons. But on a day when the Patriots were road underdogs and without running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), additional post-Belichick acquisitions stepped up to make an impact.

The cast who upset the NFC South-leading Buccaneers on Sunday comes from a strategic build in Wolf and Vrabel’s tenure. Nine of 11 starters on offense Sunday joined the Patriots after Belichick’s departure. Eight of the 11 defensive starters arrived via 2024 free agency or later.

“We’re a hungry team,” said linebacker Robert Spillane, whom the Patriots signed in March. “We’re a young team. We’re a hungry team. We’re a team with a lot of guys with a chip on our shoulders.

“We still feel like we have yet to play our best game.”

Maye on Patriots rookies’ jets: ‘You’re not going to catch them’

With 11 seconds left in the first quarter, the Patriots returned a punt, trailing 7-0.

Maye faked a handoff to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson and then dropped back. Buccaneers linebacker Chris Braswell dove for Maye as he unspooled, Braswell knocking Maye to the ground just after the ball left the quarterback’s hand. The ball traveled downfield to third-round rookie receiver Kyle Williams, who grabbed it in stride and turned upfield. 

Accelerating to a top speed of 21.78 miles per hour, per Next Gen Stats, Williams eluded multiple Buccaneers defenders en route to the end zone.

His third-ever NFL catch, and first professional touchdown, went for 72 yards.

“It was sensational, I don’t think words can really put an explanation on that feeling,” Williams told reporters after the game. “We got the look that we want. Shout out to Drake for making the alert. At that play he gets to pick [option] one or two and he picked me.

“And once the ball was in my hand, I seen grass.”

Williams wouldn’t catch another pass the following three quarters, targeted only one more time. But Vrabel made clear: The rookie showed up when the team needed him, to get the ball and scoreboard rolling.

He wasn’t the only Patriots rookie who would reach pay dirt.

After wowing NFL fans with the only kickoff return touchdown in the preseason this year,  Henderson’s first nine games for the Patriots were solid but not spectacular. Entering Sunday, Henderson had averaged 4.2 yards per attempt and 31.4 rushing yards per game. He had scored one touchdown, then spent five games out of the end zone.

Against the Buccaneers, with a toe injury sidelining running back Rhamondre Stevenson, Henderson broke out. 

That Henderson received the ball on first-and-10 the second snap of the second half wasn’t surprising. But what Henderson did with was reminiscent of his preseason excitement. Henderson tucked the handoff and ran straight through the middle of the Buccaneers defense. When he somehow wasn’t stopped, four Buccaneers began their pursuit at the second level. None caught him in time to avoid a 55-yard touchdown that opened the game to a two-score margin.

And when the Buccaneers closed the gap in the fourth quarter, Henderson buoyed the Patriots yet again. With under 2 minutes to play, Henderson caught a pitch and hit contact with defenders before the line of scrimmage. Then he escaped around the left end, hightailing it 69 yards to the end zone.

Like Tampa Bay’s pursuit on the Patriots rookies’ runs, the Buccaneers would not catch the Patriots’ 28-point production.

“Kyle got out the back door. He’s fast,” Maye said. “You’re not going to catch him. Him and 32, TreVeyon. If they get going, you’re not going to catch them.”

As the Bills lost in a surprising upset in Miami, the Patriots became increasingly tough to catch in the division.

“Every win is crucial, every one is important,” Maye said. “We’ve got to go back out there next week and get another one.”

As ‘players make plays,’ Vrabel and Wolf have found the players

When the Patriots and Belichick capped their 24-year partnership on Jan. 11, 2024, Belichick’s coaching acumen and game management were not the main concerns.

A string of mixed-result draft picks played more heavily into the Patriots’ decision to pivot. Belichick’s desire to retain control wasn’t conducive to his NFL dreams in New England or elsewhere. His candidacy for the Atlanta Falcons head job faltered because of his desire to and insistence on retaining personnel control, sources told Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson at the time.

Belichick’s tenure was undoubtedly a rousing success, six Super Bowl titles just one of many accolades. But his personnel acumen ran its course, the Patriots believed.

Their rapid rebuilding of the roster, furthered with late October trades of 2023 second-round edge rusher Keion White and 2020 second-round safety Kyle Dugger, speaks to the changes the club needed.

That showed Sunday with the impact of veteran presences like Diggs and Mack Hollins, both signed this year in free agency. And it showed Sunday with a quick-to-act 2025 rookie class that fronted four starters in addition to Williams starting.

“I think we’re legit as a whole group,” Williams said of the 2025 rookie class. “I feel like we come in and we embrace everything that they ask us to do. We never [shy away from] anything. Yes, we are rookies — but we don’t look at it like that. We look at it like we’re on everybody’s level … and come in and attack every day.”

Maye performed similarly in a blitz-happy day, standing tall in the pocket as the Buccaneers hit him six recorded times and swatted five of his passes, including one interception. His 51.6% completion rating was his lowest in 23 career games across two seasons, and a far cry from the league-best 74.1% completion clip he carried into the week. 

And yet, as he faced pressure on 15 dropbacks, per TruMedia Sports, Maye completed a handful of key plays. He faced pressure on the 72-yard score with Williams, and he faced pressure on three third-down completions including a 54-yard bomb to Hollins on third-and-14 in the fourth quarter.

That’s what Vrabel and co. want to see in their hand-picked cast: the poise to execute enough big plays and the resilience to rebound from heavy pressure that could take a toll.

The Patriots have shown that in already winning eight games, tied for most in the AFC. That’s what Vrabel will ask of them as the season continues, beginning Thursday night against the New York Jets.

“It’s not always perfect, it’s never going to be perfect, but I love the way that they compete,” Vrabel said. “I always love the fight. That’s why I love coaching them.

“They fight and they compete.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was furious with officials Sunday after a physical sequence against the Steelers caused quarterback Justin Herbert to up coming limping.

The sequence took place in the second quarter of Sunday night's game between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. And the first big hit didn't involve Herbert. On this one, Steelers cornerback James Pierre picked up Chargers receiver Derius Davis and body slammed him after and end-around. 

Pierre grabbed Davis by his thighs, picked him up high off the ground and slammed him head first toward the turf. Davis landed on his shoulder and side and appeared to escape injury. 

Pierre was not penalized for his body slam. 

A few plays later, Herbert took off scrambling under pressure. Two Steelers defenders chased him down and tackled him from behind, and Herbert's left ankle got twisted in the turf. 

Herbert came up limping from the play, but remained in the game. 

Later on the same drive, Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith hit Herbert near his knees after Herbert released the ball. At the same time, safety Kyle Dugger clipped Herbert high, and Herbert's right ankle got twisted.

Herbert immediately pleaded with officials for a flag. 

 Harbaugh took up Herbert's case from the sideline with some animated words toward officials. It was to no avail. Officials didn't throw a flag, and the Chargers settled for a field goal after a failed third-and-10 on their next play. 

NBC officiating analyst Terry McAuley sided with officials and explained the lack of a flag from his perspective: 

"It's not [going low]," McAuley said of the hit. "He hits him, wraps him up high and falls down into his leg. That's not a foul for roughing the passer."

Video of the hit is above. You can be the judge.

While Herbert got banged up on the sequence, he didn't leave the game. Herbert spent part of ensuing possession getting both ankles wrapped, then returned to the game for the next Chargers possession.