Patriots Country

Patriots HC Gets High Praise for Victory vs. Bills

Head coach Mike Vrabel's name has been plastered all over social media and headlines for leading the New England Patriots to victory.

Jennifer Streeter

Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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While some may have doubted the New England Patriots entering Week 5, new coach Mike Vrabel did not.

Vrabel has become known for being a hands-on type of a coach, a "players coach" if you will. Clearly, this paid off in his favor with his Patriots taken down the Buffalo Bills on the road; at the time, the Bills were the only remaining team in the league who were undefeated.

And while Buffalo was favored to win, Vrabel had one thing to say postgame when asked how much confidence the 23-20 Sunday night win gave the team — "We were confident coming in."

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel
Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel reacts during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Fans also learned that Vrabel's father, Chuck, was in attendance for the matchup. Chuck Vrabel is a former coach himself and Vrabel said on- air that he always appreciates his perspective, and one thing he mentioned was contributions from young players in a tough/loud environment.

Attendance at Highmark Stadium for the matchup was 70,802, which is around only 800 away from max capacity.

Postgame at the podium, Vrabel also said he was especially proud of how much the football was moved around en route to taking down Buffalo, and how that's something he's going to continue to do in his game plans moving forward.

"We're going to move the ball around [because] everyone helped us," Vrabel said at his postgame press conference. "I think just a really gutty performance from Drake [Maye] and [I've] really continued to enjoy watching him grow and lead this football team. It was good for us to, again, we'd love to have won by two scores but being able to have come back and execute in a critical situation, take the clock out. We ended on our terms."

Quarterback Maye finished the night with 22 completions on 30 attempts, throwing for a total of 273 yards. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs led the game in receiving yards with 146. The Patriots (now 3-2) defense also shined, holding an undefeated team on the road to 232 passing yards and forcing one interception.

Additionally, the signal caller threw for zero interceptions, leading the Pats on a drive with under two minutes remaining on the scoreboard to secure the win with a 52-yard field goal from rookie Andres Borregales.

In short — the Patriots are seemingly seeing individual success at all position groups. Clearly, Vrabel's hands-on style to coaching is paying off.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!

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Jennifer Streeter
JENNIFER STREETER

Jennifer Streeter graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M and received her Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. At both schools, she focused on an emphasis of sports reporting. A former athlete herself, "Jenny" was a varsity soccer player and comes from a family who participated in NCAA athletics. She has covered everything from the 2025 Hughes Bowl, SEC football, Ivy League athletics, the 2023 ALCS and the 2023 World Series, the WNBA, and much more.

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