New England Patriots
“We were an improved football team,” Vrabel said. “We were a much different football team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning.”
Before the Patriots flattened the Raiders during a 45-17 win on Sunday, Mike Vrabel had a special visitor drop by his Gillette Stadium office.
Former teammate turned ESPN analyst Tedy Brushi came by for an interview. Vrabel laughed when Bruschi introduced him as head coach of the Patriots. He was expecting for Bruschi to call him by his nickname, “Vrabes.”
Nearly a quarter-century ago, Adam Vinatieri nailed the go-ahead kick that vaulted New England past the then-Oakland Raiders in the final game at the old Foxboro Stadium. Another late Vinatieri kick would secure the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship a few weeks later.
Although they ended up as champions, that 2001 Patriots team did not have things all figured out from Day 1. There was a quarterback controversy, a head coach coming off of a 5-11 season, and while the roster was talented, there were plenty of question marks.
The team started 5-5 that year but caught fire at the right time. Vrabel told Bruschi on Sunday that he wants the 2001 Patriots to be a model for the current Patriots.
“Again, I think that’s the blueprint for where we want to be,” Vrabel said. “We know that there’s not much history in sports while we’re playing. There’s history when we’re done playing. This is our own journey that we’re trying to create with this football team, but I remind them that team was 5-5 and won nine games after Thanksgiving.”
“How we continued to improve — I will always remember that,” Vrabel added. “We were an improved football team. We were a much different football team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning.”
Leading into his next question, Bruschi spoke about some of the adversity the 2001 team faced.
“A lot of grit on that ’01 team,” Bruschi said. “We battled back from 0-2, I think it was 1-3. A lot of holes we dug ourselves out of — very similar to the hole you guys dug yourself out of last week.”
The 2026 Patriots began the year 1-2 after being blown out by Jacksonville. They got some momentum by beating the rival Bills, and put together a complete performance against the Raiders at home on Sunday.
“I think it’s a lot of just saying, ‘This is what you’re capable of doing, and that you are the answer,’” Vrabel said. “We talked a lot about everyone trying to be the answer and the reason why we were going to get back in the race and that’s got to continue. Last week is not going to help us today. I think we’re excited.”
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