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Mike Vrabel Had Hilarious Line About Getting His Lip Bloodied After Win Over Chargers

Andy Nesbitt

Mike Vrabel and the Patriots will face either the Texans or the Steelers next Sunday in the divisional round.
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots will face either the Texans or the Steelers next Sunday in the divisional round. / @Patriots
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The Patriots beat up Justin Herbert and the Chargers on Sunday as they advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs with a dominant 16-3 over Los Angeles in front of a jubilant home crowd at Gillette Stadium.

They also beat up on their head coach, Mike Vrabel, who got a bloody lip while celebrating a big play near the end of the game. The former Patriots star loved it, too, as he was seen on the sidelines having a good laugh over it while trying to wipe the blood away.

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In case you missed it, Vrabel was fired up after Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams slammed Herbert to the ground to seal the win with the team's sixth sack of the night. Their head coach then gave Williams a huge hug on the sideline and in doing so, got hit square in the lip by Williams's helmet.

Here's how that bloody scene played out:

Vrabel had some fun with that during his fired-up postgame locker room speech to the team.

"We said all along that you have to be willing to spill some blood and the big dogs come out in January," Vrabel said. "Milt came over there and he knocked the living s--- out of me. But I ain’t afraid to spill a little blood either."

Here's that speech:

Williams also had a funny line about it after the game, telling reporters: “I was turnt. I forgot he didn’t have a helmet on.”

The Patriots have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 NFL season and now they'll host another playoff game next Sunday. Maybe they'll spill more blood in that one, and maybe next time Vrabel will be a little more careful when he goes in for a hug.

Either way, the vibes are high in New England, and rightfully so.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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