After the Patriots massive win in Week 10 over the Buccaneers down in Tampa, it’s hard not to start thinking about what the ceiling for this 2025 season could be.
At 8-2 with an easy schedule ahead, Pats fans are starting to feel like the No. 1 seed in the AFC is truly in play. And when you’re the lone team in the conference to receive a bye in the playoffs, it’s only natural to start looking towards a home AFC Championship Game, possibly a trip to the Super Bowl, and…
…OK, I’ll stop. And don’t worry, I knocked on wood. I hope all of you are doing so as well.
But health permitting, there’s no reason why this version of the New England Patriots can’t compete for the whole damn thing this year. Simple as that.
With that said, the not-so-distant past in New England continues looming large - nine Super Bowl appearances from 2001 to 2018, with six Lombardi Trophies to show for it.
The head coach was a part of four of those AFC Championship-winning teams, winning three Super Bowl rings at linebacker in the process (2001, 2003-04).
So if there’s anyone to ask about this year’s team being compared to any of those dynasty teams of yesteryear, Mike Vrabel is the guy.
“You might tell me to pump the brakes, but does this team remind you at all of the 2001 team?” Greg Hill asked Vrabel during his weekly visit with The Greg Hill Show on Monday.
“No - I mean, that team in 2001, it was 5-5, won nine games after Thanksgiving,” said Vrabel.
“You know, I do think that the season starts now, you know? The NFL season - this is when it starts, and we'll have to be playing our best each and every week to give ourselves a chance. And so, I don’t - the comparisons and things are kind of interesting, but we know that they're not that important.”
The exact road map the 2025 team is on is definitely different from the 2001 team, there’s no doubt about it. Like Vrabel mentioned, that group from 24 years ago didn’t round into form until much later in the year, whereas this year’s team started its run with a Week 4 blowout over a Panthers team that turned out to be pretty good 5-5 through 10 games.
And unlike 2001, this year’s team started out the season with their second-year quarterback as the lead man. And even though ’01’s lead man ended up becoming the greatest player in the history of the league, he was far from an MVP candidate when taking over the job from an injured Drew Bledsoe.
That defense was also full of guys who played for two previous regimes in Bill Parcells and Pete Carroll. Bill Belichick inherited a group of veterans, a lot of whom had played in a Super Bowl early in their careers in 1996 when the future Hall of Fame head coach was an assistant on the defense. Vrabel opted to, essentially, clean house on defense, getting rid of the power structure that had been in place in recent years in favor of newcomers like Robert Spillane, Milton Williams and K’Lavon Chaisson.
But just for fun, let’s look at some of the obvious similarities:
- Like the 2001 version of Tom Brady, 2025 Drake Maye is also playing in his second season
- Like Belichick back in 2001, Vrabel is in his second go-around as an NFL head coach (for the record, Vrabel was a lot more successful in his first coaching gig than Belichick was in his)
- Like 2001, the 2025 Patriots are having an upstart season after losing double-digit games the season prior (5-11 in 2000, 4-13 in 2024)
- Like 2001, the 2025 Patriots are far outperforming their preseason expectations
- Like 2001, this 2025 Patriots team might just be ahead of schedule, but that’s a great problem to have
Vrabel has a short turnaround this week, as the Patriots get back at it for Week 11 on Thursday Night Football. They’ll host the Jets (2-7) at Gillette Stadium in primetime on Amazon.
As of publishing, the Patriots are a 10.5-point favorite, sitting on the moneyline at -700 at BetMGM. The total for Thursday is set at 44.5.
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.