The Patriots are starting to separate themselves as the clear leaders in the AFC East after Sunday's big win over the Buccaneers, and coach Mike Vrabel, for one, is absolutely pumped.
New England took care of business Sunday afternoon with a 28-23 win over the Bucs on the road and improved to 8-2, distancing themselves in the division from the second-place Bills, who lost to the Dolphins and fell to 6-3 on the year.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had himself another MVP-caliber performance, and also got some help on the ground from rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, who logged his first breakout game of the season with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay.
After the Patriots' road win, Vrabel was seen individually greeting players on their way back to the locker room. The veteran coach dapped up each player and repeatedly chanted, "NFC South champs! NFC South champs!"
As Mike Vrabel greeted each player on their way back to the locker room, he kept saying, “NFC South champs! NFC South champs!” — a reference to the quality of opponent the Patriots beat. pic.twitter.com/COitn2HvVr
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 9, 2025
Vrabel could be alluding to the fact that the Patriots swept the NFC South this season, beating the Panthers in Week 4 (42-13), the Saints in Week 6 (25-19), the Falcons in Week 9 (24–23) and now the Bucs in Week 10.
Vrabel, who's been enjoying an extremely successful first year as Patriots' coach so far, was also seen providing valuable support to his players during the game. He appeared to give Henderson the go-ahead to score on his long touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, and he also personally checked on defensive tackle Christian Barmore after he got hurt and was seen holding his hand on the field:
Mike Vrabel was down with Christian Barmore after his injury ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zXU8QyV7jz
— Colby Cochran (@PatriotsGlobal2) November 9, 2025
After a few rough years of the post-Brady era, the Patriots truly lucked out, getting both their quarterback of the future in Maye and their coach in Vrabel within the last two years. New England will look to extend their first-place lead in the AFC East in next week's matchup against the Jets.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Vrabel Had Just Three Words for Patriots Players After Big Win Over Bucs.
