Drake Maye has gotten a lot of attention, for good reason too. He did just take the New England Patriots from having the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to being the No. 2 in the AFC in one season. It makes sense that everyone is talking about him and his MVP-worthy season. What if I told you, though, he’s not the sole reason for New England’s immediate turnaround. Mike Vrabel is the secret weapon actually.
Specifically, Vrabel’s defense. If there’s one coach you don’t want to face in the postseason, it’s Vrabel. While he may not have the best defenses in the regular season, he figures it out in the postseason. Maye is good and the Patriots aren’t as dangerous of a team without him. But Sunday night proved he has a playoff defense that’s just as lethal.
Mike Vrabel’s playoff defense history is could be x-factor for New England
As a head coach, there aren’t too many coaches with Vrabel’s resume. When he was with the Tennessee Titans, he faced some of the AFC’s best teams when they were at their best and though the Titans didn’t make it to a Super Bowl and played in just one AFC title game, Vrabel’s defenses faced the gauntlet and they held their own for the most part.
Here’s who Vrabel has had to face in his head coaching career:
- Lamar Jackson (twice) (Baltimore Ravens)
- Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers
Sure, 2019 was the only year they won a playoff game during his time there – the Titans reached the AFC title game — but those teams were held to less than 20 points. Only the Chiefs in 2019 scored more than 20 points. You could argue the Patriots offense this year is better than maybe any of the offenses he coached in Tennessee.
That’s why the Patriots could go on a deep playoff run this year. They have the perfect recipe with their offense and coach with a playoff history on defense that can keep teams from scoring. Don’t get me wrong, if you go look at those box scores, those quarterbacks had a field day. But when it mattered most, he kept them out of the end zone and that’s why this Patriots team could be set up for success.
Mike Vrabels’ playoff defense success takes the pressure of Drake Maye
The other good thing about a Vrabel-led defense in the postseason is that it takes the pressure off Maye to be elite through the playoffs. If you look at Sunday’s box score, Maye had 268 passing yards with just one passing touchdown and an interception. But it was really the defense getting red zone stops and keeping the Chargers out of the end zone.
If the defense doesn’t play as well as it did, you get a game like the first half, where it’s 6-3 and 12 total points after three quarters. But when your defense is playing well, you can afford to have an off day on offense.
That’s why as good as Maye is, he’s not going to be the difference whether the Patriots go on a deep playoff run or not. He’ll certainly play a big role as he’s the starting quarterback, but this defense holds all the cards and the Patriots playoff success.