On Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was back on The Greg Hill Show for his weekly visit to the WEEI airwaves.
With his team riding high at 9-2 after their 27-14 win over the Jets (2-8) in Week 11, New England is in the driver’s seat for one of the top two seeds in the AFC come playoff time. They currently rank as the No. 2 seed in the AFC behind Denver by way of a conference win percentage tie breaker (6-2 vs. 5-2), and continue to have a favorable schedule down the stretch.
On paper, they should continue stacking wins. And if that happens, they could be looking at both a first round bye and a home playoff game - something that hasn’t happened at Gillette Stadium since the 2018 season.
This iteration of Patriots football may seem ahead of schedule to most, but one of the big reasons for their success in 2025 is one of the main reasons Vrabel is back calling Foxborough his football home:
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
Currently sitting with the second-lowest odds at FanDuel to win MVP, the 23-year-old has been outstanding in 10 of his team’s 11 games. Outside of a bad showing in Week 1 against the Raiders, there are very few blemishes on Maye’s MVP resume heading into Week 12. He’s leading the league in passing yards (2,836) and completion percentage (71.9%), is second in passer rating (113.2) and QBR (73.4), and is third in passing touchdowns (20). Add in what he’s been able to do with his leagues while also throwing only 5 interceptions, and it would be hard to argue that there’s anyone in the league playing a better all-around game right now than Maye.
“That postgame interview [with Amazon], I thought, was really great with you two side by side,” said WEEI’s Chris Curtis. “We saw a side that we hadn't seen. How much of a role did what you saw out of Drake Maye in his rookie year lead you to return as the head coach?”
“Well, again - I touched on that there was quite a bit,” said Vrabel. “Being able to watch the tape, and preparing for the different interviews that you take, you got to try to get a feel for the team and what that looks like. And certainly, the quarterback position is such an important position in our league, and any league that plays football. So I think it had a lot to do [with it], and how he reacted. And again, [his rookie year was] a difficult season, and how he handled things, or his ability, certainly stood out.”
With Vrabel also very publicly interviewing with the Jets ahead of taking the job in New England, it’s clear the 50-year-old picked the right gig.
Vrabel and Maye will look to keep things rolling in Week 12, as they’ll head to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals (3-7). As of publishing, the Patriots are 6.5-point road favorites, and sit on the moneyline at -300.
And with video surfacing from the Bengals’ game with the Steelers (6-4) on Sunday showing All-World wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase spitting on former All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey, there is a chance the 25-year-old is suspended for Week 12 all together.
If that’s the case, those betting odds may tilt in New England’s favor even further.
Chase or not…no napping, New England!
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.