The New England Patriots earned a massive win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. With that, they got back on track and positioned themselves to go on a run with some improved play now that a difficult early-season stretch is behind them.
Still, the Patriots have plenty to clean up. That includes some of those turnovers and penalties, with one sequence of penalties standing out as a major issue, in particular, because head coach Mike Vrabel took an unsportsmanlike conduct.
In the second quarter, the Bills were driving but found themselves in a third-and-goal from the 16-yard line. It looked like the Patriots came up with a stop, but Marcus Jones was flagged for defensive holding. A questionable call, it came with an automatic first down. Vrabel made it worse, chirping at the referees and earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
It didn’t take a master lip reader to tell that Vrabel was swearing while complaining about the call. At the same time, it wasn’t something that most coaches don’t say from time to time without a penalty. Regardless, it was a major mistake by Vrabel, and one that proved to be costly in the moment. The Bills would end up tying the game at 14 on the drive.
Following the game, the postgame pool interview with referee Bill Vinovich addressed the penalty on Vrabel. He said it was due to Vrabel leaving the box and swearing. He added, “I don’t know how you’re going to give a warning. It’s not something that is going to happen twice. When you use language like that, it’s pretty much a given.”
New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Shared His Feelings on the Penalty
The penalty ended up hurting the Patriots in the moment. Luckily, it didn’t cost them the game, with the Patriots ending on a fourth-quarter comeback drive from Drake Maye. That probably put Mike Vrabel in a good mood for his postgame press conference.
Still, even with all that there was to be happy about, he was always going to be asked about the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. There, he was open about what he said, and Vrabel would even seemingly call out the referee for being too sensitive in the moment.
“I told them that it was a terrible — I’m not going to say — effing call,” Vrabel said. “I’ve said that 87 times since I’ve been a head coach. There was nothing derogatory. You know, you’d have to ask (the referee). I think he was a little sensitive.”
Vrabel would add that he apologized to the referee following the game. Cameras did catch that interaction in the tunnel.
Obviously, it’s hard to say what Vrabel and the officials said to each other in the tunnel. So, for the time being, it’s Vrabel’s word that it was an apology for losing his cool.
“Once I get the word from upstairs that it wasn’t what we felt like was a good call, which I’m going to trust (Patriots VP of football operations and strategy John Streicher) with my life — I probably shouldn’t have swore,” Vrabel said. “But I can tell you in my history of being on the sidelines as a head coach, I’ve said that. I apologized to him, and again, players responded. It was unfortunate, and I have to be better in those moments.”
How Big of an Issue are Penalties for the Patriots?
The Patriots finished their win over the Bills with 6 penalties for 35 yards. It wasn’t a massive amount of yardage, but poor timing like the Jones hold and Vrabel personal foul helped add points to the board for Buffalo.
That’s coming off a 9-penalty for 68-yard performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars a week ago. The Patriots had 31 yards in penalties against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 50 yards in penalties against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s no mistake that the fewer penalty yards they’ve had, the more likely they are to win.
The good news is this is an issue that can get under control with some discipline. The Patriots just need to prove they’re capable of it.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Explains Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Calls Out Official