Mike Vrabel Gave a Relatable Answer on the Patriots Being Home Underdogs vs. Bills

New England sits atop the AFC East heading into Week 15.
The Patriots are underdogs against the Bills this weekend.
The Patriots are underdogs against the Bills this weekend. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Patriots are getting ready to welcome the Bills to Foxborough on Sunday afternoon for a contest that, with a win, will crown them as AFC East champions for the first time since the 2019 season.

New England enters Week 15 with an 11–2 record and currently holds the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Bills, meanwhile, are 9–4 and firmly in the wild-card hunt—but are also just 3–2 in their last five games.

Even with the Patriots on the upswing, Buffalo in the midst of a down year, and the game set to be played at Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, those who set the betting lines—a.k.a., the oddsmakers—have New England as 1.5-point underdogs heading into this one.

When asked whether this topic comes up inside the building, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said no—before admitting that it does get brought to his attention—and then offered an honest, and frankly relatable, answer.

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“Every week, you see—in this league—records really don't mean anything,“ he explained. “The point spreads and Survivor pools get blown up every week, and all that other stuff, so we're just trying to focus on our preparation here and getting back into it.“

Here’s a look at his full answer:

One of us! One of us!

Quarterback Drake Maye, who is among the top candidates to win NFL MVP, was also asked about the Patriots being underdogs this weekend.

“Any time you're at home and you're an underdog it gives you something to play for a little bit,“ he explained. “Really, we're [not] worried about all the, whatever the underdog, whatever they set the line at. It's us vs. them regardless. When they put the ball down it's gonna be 0–0 [and] for 60 minutes we know we have to play a full game.“

“They've won the division for five years,“ Maye later continued. “So we have something we need to go take. It's going to be hard to do, but we're up for it.“

We’re in for a good one on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium.


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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.