New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel detailed how badly the team lost to the Green Bay Packers during his postgame press conference. Vrabel told reporters the team had their [expletive] kicked.
That admission, though, didn’t save the coach from receiving major criticism after the 45-27 defeat. CBS Sports’s John Breech was one of the louder critics of New England after the loss.
Breech ripped into Vrabel for how unprepared the team looked against Green Bay.
“The Patriots took an absolute pounding here. Drake Maye threw an interception on his first pass of the game, and things only got worse from there,” wrote Breech. “The Patriots simply didn’t look prepared to play. They got out-coached on both sides of the ball.
“The biggest surprise was probably that Mike Vrabel’s defense got run off the field. They couldn’t tackle, they couldn’t stop the NFL’s worst rushing attack and there wasn’t much of a pass rush.”
Overall, Breech handed the Patriots an F grade for their Week 9 performance versus the Packers. The analyst also implied this could be the foreshadowing of more bad days ahead for New England this season.
“The biggest concern is that this team has now played five games against teams that currently have a winning record, and they’ve gone 1-4 in those games,” added Breech. “The Patriots are struggling to beat anyone good, and if they don’t get things figured out soon, they’re going to be sitting at home in January.”
Mike Vrabel’s Patriots Start Slowly Again Against Packers
Vrabel did try to be a little positive to reporters after saying they got their butts kicked. But mostly, Vrabel lamented the team’s turnovers, slow start and continued lack of awareness at avoiding pre-snap penalties versus Green Bay.
In Week 9, the Patriots fell into an early hole for the third consecutive week. The Packers scored 17 points before the Patriots got on the board.
Against the Chicago Bears during Week 7, the Patriots fell behind 10-0. It was also 13-3 versus the Miami Dolphins in Week 8.
“There’s a lot of things that we’ll have to think about and try to do, focus on how we start practice. Making sure that we’re ready to go. It’s tough to spot good teams any sort of lead, and we’ve done that,” said Vrabel in his postgame press conference. “So that was something that we talked about going to Miami, and that didn’t happen.
“Then something that we continue to talk about this week, and we just have to realize that what we’re going to get early in the game is we’re getting everybody’s best, and certainly whatever they feel like their scheme plays are or things that they feel like are going to help.
“We just weren’t able to get off the field, and then certainly the turnover there early kind of derailed us.”
On Sunday, the Patriots weren’t able to climb out of the hole. They never pulled within single digits of the Packers after midway through the first quarter.
Patriots Face International Flight in Week 10 Matchup
It won’t get any easier for Vrabel and the Patriots. They will fly to Munich, Germany to face the 6-2 Detroit Lions next Sunday.
As of November 9, the Patriots will meet four more teams with winning records after their Week 11 bye. Fortunately, they will play the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos at home. But the Patriots also have a road trip to Kansas City scheduled for December 21.
So yes, it’s safe to assume New England must improve its record against non-winning teams to make the postseason. Playing better in the first quarter and avoiding turnovers are likely to be keys to doing that.
Mike Vrabel Put on Blast After Patriots Lopsided Loss