HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Q: Just your overall thoughts on the win.
MV: We're lucky to win, is probably where I'd start, but we're happy that we won. We'll enjoy it for about an hour, and then we're going to focus on the next task.
Q: When you say lucky, can you expand on that?
MV: Fortunate, whatever. We just didn't play very well. We tried to beat ourselves, but we made enough plays in critical situations to help us get through here today.
Q: Coach, in this league, a win is a win regardless of how you get it. How does a win like this help you moving forward, a tight game like this?
MV: Won't know until we move forward, but I just know that you have to be able to continue to improve, and I don't feel like we did. We won, which is the most important thing. We just, I don't think we improved from what we had shown the previous two weeks, and I have to figure out why. That's my job. My job's also to get us to win and also to get us to improve.
Q: Mike, what made you guys lean on Corey Kiner at the end of the game over Rhamondre Stevenson?
MV: He runs hard. He runs hard, and it's the same way he's selling the kickoff returns. We got three capable backs and you ride the hot hand. So should we have not rode him? Okay, good. I just was curious.
Q: Hi, Mike. I'm curious, with A.J. [Brown], just what did you see from him in his first game back?
MV: I think he could've probably made a few more plays, come down with a few more plays. He's been out for a while. I know that he wanted to do well for his football team, and unfortunately it wasn't his best effort. I know that he knows that, and we have all the confidence in the world in AJ just to be able to finish those plays. I think that play Rome made looking back at it is one of the huge plays of his football game, and unfortunately he wasn't able to return. But to be able to hang on to that football, I give him a lot of credit. But AJ has high expectations for himself, and we have high expectations for him as well. So I'm confident that he'll come back and do a lot of things that help us here the rest of the season.
Q: Mike, the offensive line, the guys that stepped in, Caleb [Lomu], Matt [Pryor], Walter [Rouse], just your thoughts on that.
MV: We were able to run the football. We were able to protect the quarterback. I felt like we really gained some energy, and that was impressive to go that long and get the ball down there. I wish we would've converted. We didn't, but I think that's just those guys were ready for their opportunity, and it was great to see. I just, you never know what's going to happen in this league, and we talk about it all the time, preparing for the journey. When guys get their chance, they go in there and perform. I hate that we don't have the guys. I hate when guys get injured, but I also understand that on the other side of that, there's an opportunity.
Q: Mike, you guys went from not having A.J. Brown for four weeks to now he's your leading receiver today, 10 targets. It seemed like there were some plays drawn up for him. Is trying to work him back in, are you concerned that that's maybe affecting the flow of the offense a little bit?
MV: No, I think he has to make the catches when we throw to him, and no, I don't see that being… The plays that are drawn up, I don't think that… I think there's a progression in everything that we do. Maybe if we have a play that's designed to go to him and it's clouded, then it goes somewhere else. But maybe the play that ended up with Pop was supposed to go to AJ. I don't think that that hurt us until we fumbled the football. So I think there'll be times where you want to try to put your best players at the point of attack. If it's not there, the quarterback has to know, hey, they did something that took that away, much like you try to get guys on defense to get them in the right position. So I think just make the plays that you're supposed to make, and that goes for all of us. That starts with me being great and doing what I need to do to help this team win. Then that has to translate all the way down.
Q: Mike, after the Seattle game, I think Drake Maye said he lost patience in that game. Today, they didn't blitz him as much. There were times where they dropped eight. Is that a sign of his growth that he didn't force things and sort of played with things in front of him?
MV: I think so, that we just… And they'd showed a lot of pressure coming in, and I think they mixed it in at times, certainly there in the second half to start the second half. But I think Drake Maye continues to stay very even-keeled. I think that he probably is much more mature than I probably think in my head, just being 24. But I think that he is very even-keeled. I think seeing him operate in that five-minute situation and communicate with those guys and explain to them what we were going to do and how we were going to try to operate, I was, again, none of us were at our best today. But he was certainly good enough and was able to find Rome and find Hunter and be patient and not get jittery.
Q: Mike, how big has your depth been to start this season over the first six weeks, and how can playing so many backups help you later down the line this season?
MV: Just try to get the guys ready. I think that that's something that we targeted. We knew that it was probably unique to add 10 players at the end of training camp that were new, and there was going to be some growing pains getting those guys ready. But I think that when you look at Latu or Hunter or Moose and those guys contributing in a way that they did on special teams, that kickoff unit was fun to watch. That probably was our best unit today in all the phases. So that was fun to watch. Fun to see Corey Kiner, a guy that we added, make plays in kickoff return and offense, and Walter, who we added, and Pryor. So it takes a little bit of time to get those guys brought up to speed. But then certainly I enjoy watching those guys go out and take advantage of their opportunity. They go from sitting there as a backup not knowing whether they're going to be in the game, to contributing to us winning. So that's exciting. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
Q: Just the guys who left here today, is there anything you can share about whether it's Romeo Doubs or AVT (Alijah Vera-Tucker) that might be available for Thursday or might be unavailable?
MV: I mean, again, listen, we are all smart people here, some smarter than others. But it's a short week. So whether they can make it back or not, I don't know. They don't finish the game. We'll have to see. But I don't know any other thing other than that. And we'll just have to figure out who we have available and find 48 to put out there. So it's just hard to say, but it's a short week. And if you don't finish the game, that's a quick turnaround. Thank you.
QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Q: Coach Vrabel wasn't overly pleased, said you guys were lucky to win, and he didn't feel that you guys had advanced from your previous game. How did you feel?
DM: I think Coach has a great perspective on how we feel like we've attacked the week and put the results into the game. I feel like we weren't… It was sloppy, it wasn't clean. It wasn't football that we felt like we weren't complimentary. We weren't protecting the football on offense. It took us a while to get into a rhythm. We had the first drive that we didn't get anything going. Then we had a one-play touchdown, which was kind of weird, so we weren't out there very long. Then we just kept on doing ourselves again, hurting ourselves. From there, I think it's hard. Coach always says you've got to take wins in this league and enjoy them, and at the same time realize we won, but it wasn't how we want to accomplish. Let me find out what I'm trying to say. You guys understand what I'm saying, so got it.
Q: Drake, when it comes to your performance, it seemed very efficient. Again, no turnovers. What has gone right for you over the last three weeks, and why do you feel that your play has picked up so much?
DM: Yeah, I think trusting what I see on film, trusting what I'm communicating to guys in the huddle, what we're doing in the passing game, what we're trying to get into good run checks, trusting what Coach McDaniels is having our communication and our relationship, and then just trusting what I'm seeing. I feel like I'm seeing it well and trying to throw it to the open guy. I missed a few times today, and sometimes the one to pop missed high. A.J. [Brown] missed low a couple of times. So, I've got to do my part, and then from there let those guys run and make plays, and they were doing that today.
Q: Drake, after that first game this year, you said you lost some patience in that game. Flash forward, there were times where they dropped eight, there were times where they just rushed four, and they were trying to muddle you and keep you in the pocket, and yet you remained patient. Is that just part of the growth of the quarterback and seeing what you're seeing and being confident in it?
DM: Yeah, I think so. I think that's for me. I'm naturally, I always tell my wife I've, since I got married, I've never sat on the couch and watched the most TV. I've grown up with brothers and always want to be on the move and just be doing something, not just hanging around. So, it's kind of the same thing in the pocket. I feel like I got time. I'm still a little bit antsy in there and antsy to move. I feel like times last year I kind of moved out of the pocket out of clean pockets a lot of times, and was trying to make some plays on the move. I felt like when I got time in there, the past two weeks we've had two good plays when I've sat in there and just kind of kept my eyes downfield. I always feel like Coach McDaniels credits some quarterbacks he's had in the past, especially when they see droppers and just be patient back there.
Q: On the same lines there, did they blitz a little less than you guys were expecting? It didn't seem to blitz you much. And just on the [Romeo] Doubs touchdown, can you just take us through that play at the drop eight?
DM: Yeah, I think the first, really the first half, we weren't, we expected more, but I think they ramped it up in the second half. They made some plays, or kind of made some run-throughs. I missed some protection things that I've got to do a better job of. But yeah, Romeo made a great catch. I kind of sat in the pocket. I think they rushed maybe three, and they dropped. I think they may have had miscommunication, what it seemed like to me, from on the standpoint. I had AJ over the middle late, and I just don't want to throw over the middle late, so I kind of just saw Romeo throw the hand up and start running, so I tried to give him a ball to catch. I hate, I could've put it more on him and not have him dive, and then he goes down. So those are things that I care about that I'm mad at, but it's football.
Q: They had eight sacks last week, but today they had zero, despite all the injuries and rotations on your offensive line.
DM: Clap. To clap it up in there, yes, sir.
Q: So, how important is it to keep your offensive flow going, and what's the key behind that?
DM: Yeah, I said I've got to bring in some more treats. Shout out to Michael. I've got to keep on bringing some more treats. Those guys are doing a heck of a job in there. Coach Doug and Coach Haas, I think they have, they're coaching them hard. They're expecting a lot in practice, and those guys are playing through injuries. We got three go down today, so these guys are fighting hard. They're fighting their butts off, and it goes through them. That last drive running the football, you all got the best seat in the house. It was beautiful to see. I think the more we can do that, the more we can just gel together as offense and lean on that.
Q: How would you describe where the connection is with AJ coming off this game?
DM: Yeah, I think it was, first of all, it was great to see him back out there. It was cool to see a different guy in the huddle. Man, he looks cool in the huddle. So, I'm looking forward to just growing, just building the connection. I think there's some me, there's some, obviously plays he wish he had back, but man, I tell him, I was just telling him in the locker room, "Man, you ain't got to worry about one." He's a player in this league. He's going to be one of the best players on the field every time he steps on it. I told him I'm going to keep coming his way, and I don't really think there's too much to say about it. He's a great player. He's got great hands. He's got great releases, and he was open tonight. I thought he looked good running around, and it's glad to have him back, and I'm looking forward to seeing him down the road. It'll be fun. So thank you, guys.
ADDITIONAL PATRIOTS PLAYERS
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