To light a fire under a Patriots team coming off a 35-6 loss, head coach Mike Vrabel sought inspiration from one of the coldest moments in NBA Playoffs history: Philadelphia 76er Allen Iverson stepping over Ty Lue in the 2001 Finals.
Vrabel showed the iconic clip of 'The Answer' stepping over Lue after he hit a step-back jumper over the Los Angeles Laker to players in a team meeting last Wednesday, according to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.
“His message was ‘be the answer,’” quarterback Drake Maye told WEEI’s ‘Rich Ken and Ted’ during his weekly appearance Monday. “And I think that he was looking around at us. Nobody out there is going to help us, it’s going to be on us to be out there and be the answer.”
“It’s another example of him firing us up in a different way and not having to use what other teams say, or players say,” he added.
New England’s 29-26 victory over the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills could easily be the sort of game looked back on as a turning point in the season – that was certainly the case when the Patriots beat the Bills 23-20 in Week 5 of 2025.
Maye had plenty of answers for Buffalo’s defense Sunday. He finished the game with 269 passing yards, 54 rushing yards, and three touchdowns.
His rebound performance against the Bills should give fans hope, but Vrabel said Monday morning he never lost confidence in his quarterback.
“Everybody does have his back, starting with me and everybody all the way down,” he said. “Again, Drake wants to be as perfect as possible. We know that that's not possible. We have to be precise, and we have to lead the offense, be able to distribute the football and not just focusing on one single receiver, being able to spread the football around.”
