HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 19, 2025

Well, three straight road wins, fourth straight overall. How does it feel that your team is able to pull that off, especially coming here?

Yeah, I think an emotional game, emotional stretch for us, something that this team and organization hasn't done, and it's done a lot. Again, that doesn't do anything, but, again, the grind of coming back and getting prepared and staying in the game—we played really well in the second half—that's what I'm really proud of. Sometimes you don't always know how these games are going to go, and we certainly have to start faster, but really proud of the way that we played. Giving up three points in the last two halves of football. Offensively, really if we don't beat ourselves it's been a good product and was that same way today. I love the fact we're finishing with the football. Special teams unfortunately with a penalty, but we had some good kick coverage, some inconsistent kick coverage. Again, some good ones and bad ones, and that's where it's been. But in the end, I felt like we did enough, so excited for these guys.

What did it mean to you to come back, even the team, you know what I mean, the whole emotion of the day?

First of all, congratulations. 25 years. We appreciate what you've done. I went back and I looked, and you had a highlight video and I was in it and I looked a lot younger and I didn't have sleeves. You know, probably should've had some sleeves on back then. But congratulations. Thanks for covering us and this town for as long as you have. Yeah, we moved on. Again, there were a lot of guys over there and a lot of people on the support staff that helped us do some decent things. But you kind of move on, and this is a whole different challenge and I'm excited of where I'm at. I appreciate the support of our fans to come down here, and be excited, and be into the football game. We got to continue to give them things to cheer about, and to travel and come back and play really well at home. So that's what I'm proud of. I'm happy for the players to have a little bit of momentum and to continue to build it throughout the week.

The chant of your name late in the game, you think that's your people, people here?

I didn't get that many tickets. I don't know. That's neither here nor there. I'm happy for our players. I think these guys were figuring out how to win, they were figuring out how to practice. I guess it's humbling to have these people, whoever that is, cheer for us, whether that's the Patriots, or Drake Maye, or me or anybody else.

Mike, can you talk about the work of Rhamondre Stevenson?

Again, it's not just the running back. Again, we say the running back doesn't do a good job and we got to run it better, but we got to block better. I felt like there were some running lanes and when there weren't, we were able to take it downhill and be able to push some piles. We had some double-digit runs. We had some dirty runs. It was great to see us finish there at the end. So I think it's always a combination. We took care of the football, and that's really the formula. They made a mistake there that we were able to capitalize on.

You mentioned the turnovers again this week. What's working so well?

Practice. Awareness. Just everybody else helping. But, again, it's good to see us doing the technique and the details that are important for those types of things. We're not putting the ball in harm's way and guys are going and making plays and quarterback throws it in tight windows.

What stood out about Drake Maye's game most for you?

I think there is an athleticism to him that's really, really cool. I think he's really accurate from all different spots, whether it's in the pocket, off platform. He really has done a nice job so far spreading the football around. But there is an accuracy to him that has been really good for us.

How do you describe his growth? From your perspective, what would you say about the way he's grown?

There is a lot of demand there from Josh (McDaniels) and myself and I think he's responded to that as far as the leadership that he's had to show this offense. Kept talking about he wants to earn it. Well, I told him that he's earned it. I think he doesn't like something in practice, then he gets it fixed. If he wants a better Friday practice, he talks about it before we go out there on Friday. I think those guys respond to him and the things that he says and the way that he operates.

Drake Maye leaves the field do you talk to him about sliding?

No. I just wait for the doctor to tell me how he's doing. Get the next guy in there, which is Dobbsy (Joshua Dobbs) and get a play in there. Then when the trainers tell me he's okay, then we put him back in there and we'll talk to him about protecting himself and being smart. But I think he has tried to do that for the most part.

Second week in a row you got that score around halftime. How critical is that?

Very. Ending with the football in our hands. Defensively it was good that we didn't give up anything cheap there with 45 seconds. Great job taking a shot and having it be there and Drake (Maye) putting a great ball. Kayshon (Boutte) making a hell of a catch to secure it, getting both feet in. So, any time you can do and double them up, a lot of positives involved. Hopefully that continues to be a trend.

To see the players where you had the seven and a half minute drive and then come right out and come up with the strip sack, how pleasing is that complementary football right there?

Well, and then again, whether that's the way we covered the kickoff, right? (Christian) Elliss going down there and covering at the 20. A lot momentum there, guys running on to the field excited, leads to a play. I thought a really cool play was the second down. (Robert) Spillane makes a tackle, forces it to third-and-one, Zak (Kuhr) dialed up a great call, (Kyle) Dugger covers the guy to the flat, Craig (Woodson) covers the guy on the hide and Milt (Milton Williams) gets a sack and forces them to punt. That's the idea of some team defense and complementary football.

Your players said it was imperative that you leave here with the W. You've got guys talking about how they have a passion for blocking. They just love the team camaraderie that you've built. As a head coach here, when did you know that guys were buying what you were selling? At what point in the season?

Probably after the Vegas game and us going on to the road to Miami and having a difficult environment to play in the heat, in the back-and-forth. I felt like that told us a lot about who we were. Just kind of dipped our toe in the water the first game. I was really proud of what they did in practice and going down there. I think that really showed them. It's always been a tough place for us to play. So, I think that was really important for us and that created a lot of positive momentum. We didn't get discouraged when we had a bunch of turnovers. But had a chance against Pittsburgh and played some pretty decent football and we've played good enough to win.

Mike, obviously you've seen Cam Ward on tape prior to that. What were your impressions of him?

Early on it was pretty good. I think decisiveness, accuracy. They did a nice job early on. Glad our guys settled down.

QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 19, 2025

How are you feeling and take us through that play?

Yeah, I feel alright, just got to get down. Just landed awkward and felt alright. But no, felt good.

Took you guys a while, but how important was it to get going, Kayshon (Boutte) made that great catch.

Yeah, no I wouldn't say it was a struggle. I think, being able to run the football helped us out today. I'm proud of the guys up front. Been an emphasis all week to be able to run the football. And the guys outside made plays when the ball's in the air.

When you started that two-minute drill, what was in your head and your plan, that was such a quick strike. Was that planned or did you just see that play to Kayshon (Boutte)? Just talk us through that.

Kind of the same thing as last week in New Orleans in the two-minute. Just try to go get points and if something's there, take a shot deep and just glad we came out with seven and were able to double-dip coming out of halftime.

Take us through what you saw on the touchdown to (Austin) Hooper?

Basically got a high-low out there, and they both went to (Stefon) Diggs. They were late getting back to Hoop (Austin Hooper) and Hoop had a nice play. I underthrew it a little bit, but he's made a lot of those catches in his career and made a big time catch.

Did you hear the Vrabel chants at the end there?

I did, yeah that was pretty cool. Yeah, I think that's always cool. I think that— he downplayed it all week, which we appreciate. He just focused on us and worried about us and that's what matters. But I know that it feels good for him.

What's gotten you to this point, where it seems like everybody's alive and taking shots, whether its (Kayshon) Boutte, whether it's (Stefon) Diggs, whether its Pop (DeMario Douglas) last week?

Yeah, just keep playing the offense. I think we're learning each other, learning the offense together. I think we're more and more comfortable every week. I think that's the big thing with Coach, he's calling great games and I think we got even more left in the tank and I think that's what we'll look back on in that fourth quarter there to really seal the game.

How's those five guys up front?

Those five guys up front are balling man, those guys are warriors. They're the heartbeat of this team and they come show up every week.

You're offensively playing at a really high level right now, but the consistency in which you've maybe been able to do it, what do you think has helped you the most to be able to produce that consistency?

Yeah, it's the guys around me. We're instilling confidence in each other and the confidence in myself and just keep on going out there and getting some wins under your belt, it helps with that. So just keep on going and not changing throughout the week and keep trying to do better.

You're the first quarterback in this franchise history that has three games in a single season completing at least 80 percent of your balls. What has allowed you to have that type of success so early in your career?

Yeah, you know same thing. Those guys are making plays for me, those guys up front are blocking their butts off and in the passing game, they're going to go make plays for me and I think we're just trying to stay ahead of the chains and try to throw to the first guy open.

I think you answered this during the week maybe, but now that the game is over, how much have you grown since being in this stadium last year, when you had the exciting play and then lost in overtime, but you see how you pulled out the win today. How much do you feel like you've grown as a quarterback since then?

Yeah, I think we've just grown as an organization. I think– With coach (Mike) Vrabel and his staff I think we're just buying into each other and build an identity. And I think that's what's kind of the biggest thing for me is trying to be the same player every week. And I think those guys from this game last year, yeah, left a bad taste in our mouths. So glad we came out here with a win.

You downplayed it all week long, obviously everyone did about Coach Vrabel coming back here. What has he meant to you guys though, not just – but on a daily basis and helping you guys get to 5-2 and where you want to be right now?

Yeah, man he brings it every day. I think he brings it every day, he challenges us but he also cares about us and cares about us outside of the building and I think, he's just awesome to play for. And it was pretty cool in that locker room, celebrating.

I don't know if you're aware of this, you set the Patriots record for all-time completion percentage in a game, just two incompletions in the game, 21/23. What is your reaction to that?

Yeah, left some out there that I ended up running that I could have thrown. I think I tucked it a couple times when I shouldn't have, and I think maybe I could get the backside progression more. But yeah, I think I'm trying to be careful with the football and trying to challenge down the field and not just be doing check-down Charlie so. Just trying to throw it to the guys that's open and they're making great plays.

What's your level on confidence in this offense right now?

Yeah, we got some more. We got some more left, and I think that's what coach (Josh) McDaniels is challenging us. I think those offensive coaches are doing a great job in their areas and I think we still got more left, and I think that defensive touchdown really helped us out.

Little bit off topic, but Friday night there was a great high school game in Massachusetts. I saw you were able to attend it, just sort of what made you want to do that and what was your reaction to being there?

Yeah, I heard it was a big game in the local area. Two state champions playing and just trying to support and brings me back to those days when I was playing. It's pretty cool to see them out there and I guess there was a bunch of Patriots fans, so it was a pretty good crowd. So, good game.

ADDITIONAL PATRIOTS PLAYERS

WIDE RECEIVER DEMARIO DOUGLAS

How good was it to get the win for your coach?

It felt good just to see that smile on his face. To come back into the place that he was coaching and do our thing. It felt good after the game and seeing him smile happy, man we worked hard for this.

Take us to the one-handed catch.

I don't know. Blessings right there. I just had an under route, and I seen the ball and my eyes were just locked on the ball and its fourth-down and that's a big play. So I know man I can't let the ball go regardless. So my eyes was like really locked on that ball.

Reached out the right hand?

Yeah right hand and it just landed there.

But your body was kind of going the other way?

My body was going left and I saw the ball behind me and some Spider Manish type catch.

Did you feel like an out of body experience? After the play, what were your emotions?

I was like, let's go. These plays happen here and there. I was just blessed. And we scored on that drive so that felt good.

How much do you see Drake Maye getting better each week? What did you think of today's game?

He keeps his poise. Never too high, never too low. H comes into the game very prepared. He watches a lot of film, definitely locked in and gets everybody right in their position. He's becoming a great leader and his confidence is getting up there. I want it out of the roof. I want his confidence out the roof. So as we play week after week after week I need it to keep going up, and I'm proud of him for sure.

I know so much has changed since last season. I asked about that game last year and it left a sour taste. If you think about it in context of that game, how much has Drake Maye changed since the loss to Tennessee last year?

Yeah a year ago we lost. That one hurt. One that we could have had and we lost. But you got to have that next play mentality. I don't know if he had it in his head that we lost last year here and come back this year and come get that dub. But we all got his back regardless of anything and the people that would probably here, we play for Vrabes no matter what. Every game we play for Vrabes and it felt good to get this win.

The one handed catch you made obviously stands out. I'm curious if there had been any other one handed catches that come to your mind that maybe would be similar to that?

Kind of but not going the opposite way. I don't think so, not going the opposite way. But on the same feel, I kind of had a one hand catch here on Tennessee, but that one was different last year. But going different way, that was my first.

Did you ever play other sports? Did you play baseball or basketball?

I played baseball in middle school, but when the ball hit me and the coach told me I can't dodge the ball, I was done. He wanted me to turn my back and I told the coach I ain't going to lie after this year coach I'm going to stick to football and basketball.

Did you dive and catch in the outfield?

I was a great center fielder for sure.

So you didn't play short stop?

We had people that was real good at that on our team.

How are you guys feeding off of each other? If it's not you, it's Kayshon Boutte making that grab. If it's not Boutte, it's Stefon Diggs. It's seems like you guys have nice rhythm.

The selfishness, we took it out. We grew a bond that our energy takes over everything. Once one guy make a play, man, the next one go make a play. We build off each other. And man, that's why I love this room. It starts with our coach. Our coach makes us closer. He give us a speech almost every day before practicing. Man, it hits home. It's like, once one makes a play, man it's your turn next. It could be your turn, next. So just be ready. And when that ball come your way, make a play. And it feels like we've been doing that and I pray that we keep going that way.

You guys talk about going on the road and winning away from home. To prepare this upcoming week for a home game when the fans haven't seen you in a month, what do you expect that excitement will be like?

I know the energy is going to be out the roof. Our fans, we have some good fans. We have some great fans, and I can't wait. I can't wait. It's nothing better than at home. I need another home win. That'll feel good.

Big picture perspective. This past offseason, you were very vocal that you were sick of losing. You were one of the only handful of guys who have been here the last couple of years. You guys have already surpassed the win totals of the last a couple of years. How do you feel? Do you feel optimistic? What's your general feeling since we talked in the summer about being tired of losing?

I feel good. So, as we say, flip the script, things like that to get the win, man. It's just playing your part, knowing your role, things like that and the unselfishness. I feel like that's what's helping us win. We're out there playing for each other. That also adds a part to it. And man, the guys that we have, man. It starts with our coaches, and then the players that we have, we're all close. I think that's the first team that, offensive and defense are close. Like, we're close, and it's just a good energy. If y'all seen the locker room, we'll be wrestling, receivers wrestling the D-line. That don't even sound right. Them boys be huge, but it just bring us closer, brothers. That's how brothers do, and that gets us close.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER K'LAVON CHAISSON

Take us through that play, the strip sack and then the touchdown and how big of a spark was that for you and the defense?

Yeah, that was huge. I think that first thing we was talking about at halftime is stop waiting on somebody to make a play and be the one to make the play so. Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) kept emphasizing that for sure. It's something we went over all week and just came to the matching the hand and being able to recover the ball and get in the box.

How good did it feel you know after the offense held there for seven-and-a-half (minutes) for you guys to come right back and put another seven on them?

It's something that we needed obviously. We were feeling like the energy on the defense wasn't up to par like we would like it to be, so it was a jump start to get it going and man, I felt like we just started rolling after that for sure.

When your coach comes back into a place like this, how much of an effect or extra juice? I mean, I know it's real easy for the media to tell us that, but from a player perspective, how much extra, if any is there?

Man, it's crazy. The whole week obviously we tried emphasizing this being a regular game regular week. But man, when you gain such a bond with your peers and obviously with your coach, man, they try not to make it more than what it is, just keep a level head, but you know it's personal for them. And we just want to play hard for him and give him everything we got to make sure they come out on top and get that exact feeling that they would like to feel at the end of the game. So definitely was some extra juice on the defensive end to make sure that our guys, anybody that came from this team or just was a part of this organization in any way, that they got their revenge and they came out on top.

K'Lavon (Chaisson) you've been around a little while in the league, what makes your head coach here, Mike Vrabel, so unique?

Man, great dude just overall. Obviously, him getting the chance to be able to play in the league and see things from our point of view, but just the relatability that he has for each player. To be able to figure out, not even more so everything just being kind of right and wrong things, but just trying to figure out, 'Hey what do you see? How do you see it? Why do you see it that way?' And then, we just talk it through and kind of find the next step forward. So super grateful to have Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) as a coach man. And I'm just proud of him for sure.

And you know from different places, that feeling to come back tom especially to do it here, they're chanting "Vrabel, Vrabel, Vrabel" at the end of the game, I mean how special is that? I guess as a group, all you guys, as players, how nice is that, maybe like a gift for all the hard work all of you have done to get where you are at this point.

Huge, huge. Like I said man, when you gain such a bond man, and with all OTAs and offseason and training camp, we did our best to learn so much about each other and just everybody kind of your heroes, your history, your heartbreaks and your hopes. So just kind of everything about them and their personal life and kind of everything they've gone through in their football career and their journey. You take it personal as well because you want to see your brothers succeed and you want to see them be great. So anytime that we get the chance to help them have success in areas that they want to push for a little bit more than others, we're all for it.

What'd you learn about your team, three road games, three W's. Not a lot of teams have done that, even in NFL history?

We're exactly who we say we are. Just continue to believe in what we praise inside our facility and just keep going. Every week is a new week. So, it's an opportunity that we got to go back home and win games at home for sure and get our home team and our crowd on our back.

RUNNING BACK RHAMONDRE STEVENSON

How good did today feel for you, the running game, the offensive line as a unit?

It felt good. I feel like (Coach Mike) Vrabel challenged us, the O-line this week, even the receivers. So, it felt good. It felt great. Got to go watch the film, but it felt efficient on the ground.

Guys on the locker room said this offensive game plan boiled down to four words: run the damn ball this week. It feels like you guys really responded to that especially with what's happened over the last couple of weeks.

Yeah, exactly and I give thanks to the O-line. They were working, moving people all day, getting double teams, getting up to the second level, so they made my job a little easier, and I feel like we were all working together.

The O-line was talking about how some of that early success gave them confidence. Does that do the same thing to you?

Of course, yeah. If you run the ball well, four or five yards a carry and things like that, it definitely gives you confidence. Two carries for five yards, it's a first down. So yeah, we love those four or five yard runs.

Another really efficient game from Drake Maye as well. What can you say about the level that he is playing at right now?

He's playing well. I'm in there blocking for him, so I got to watch the film, see how he did today. But he commands the offense, he's doing a great job.

You guys had just two incompletions in the game. When you hear that, what is your reaction to what makes a performance like that?

All 11 guys on the same page. It starts up front with the protection. I feel like they did a great job in the run game and the pass game. Keeping Drake (Maye) clean for the most part and just trying to be efficient. Move the ball, get the first first down and keep it rolling.

Do you see anything different from Drake (Maye) in the days leading up to the game? Do you see some leadership things that we wouldn't see that you could describe or share or changes or growth in him?

I'll keep that in the locker room, but for sure. He's a vocal guy. He's starting to be more vocal with us. And yeah, he just commands the offense well and he's doing a great job. I know he's going to keep progressing at that.

What's the key to keeping this momentum that you were able to generate today, moving forward next week, the week after that, specifically?

Just attack and practice the same way we did last week, just stack the days. Just stack the days, be consistent. We got a pretty relentless team and I love that about us. We take challenges and we pass the test.

You guys had some success early on with him in the game, but when Jeffery Simmons, a key piece like that, comes out of the game are your eyes any wider or do you block that out?

I kind of block that out. You never want anybody to get hurt out there on the field and things like that. So, I kind block that out, just same game plan, just run the ball. That was our challenge this week and I feel like we stayed with it.

What did you think of Terrell Jennings at the end of the game getting an opportunity.

It was great. Terrell works very hard so I'm glad he got an opportunity to get in there and put his head down on the safety a little bit.

WIDE RECEIVER STEFON DIGGS

What does it mean for you guys to get a win here for Vrabel?

Just having your coaches back. Obviously, it means a lot in this league. I've been at a lot of different places, but it's kind of asensitive topic for everybody. We've kind of had that storyline throughout the year with guys on the team going back to where they were at one point. Coach Vrabes (Mike Vrabel), as players, you want to play for him, go hard for him, you damn sure want to win for him. He's a humble coach. He's not going to make it about himself. It's always going to be about the players. But for us it is always personal, especially if it's one of our guys. It's part of having our guy's back.

Do you have the sense that you guys have something special going here?

No, I feel like right now, we are just meshing really well. We're still growing and going in the direction. You don't want to put the carriage before the horse and jump out there with statements and stuff like that. But I know that this team is growing closer day by day, not just on the field, but the more time we spend together, makes you want to go out there and play hard for your brother. And the closer you get that team camaraderie, football kind of breeds that family environment. You spend a lot of time with a guy. You get to know him personally. You know, you want to go out there and play hard, and you want them to do well. You want guys to play well at a high level. You know I just think, to say something special, we'll figure it out at the end.

Only two incompletions today for Drake. What can you say about the level that he's been playing at for these last couple of weeks?

He's playing at a high level. I mean, he's being a quarterback. It's easy to say that, but he's finding an open man. Guys are making plays for him. Tight ends are playing well, running backs catching the ball. Receivers, everybody's just doing theirjob. Try not to give it too much, but you want to give to the media to kind of figure that thing out. But when you see a guy inpractice, put a lot of time in it, approach this thing the right way, there's no surprise to us. Hopefully, you go 22-for-22. So try not to give it too much, but we know that we're going in the right direction, but it's a lot of plays we left out there too. So, we get back to the film room tomorrow. That's the fun part about it. When you winning, you can easily let a lot of things slide, but I think Coach (Josh) McDaniels and our staff kind of adds another layer that when you win, how many plays did we leave out? Did we play our best ball? Everybody on this team can give you an honest answer and say no.

Is it important to kind of keep unsatisfied or still wanting to strive toward being better even though you're winning?

Yeah, I mean, kind of like what I just said. Like, when you lose, you can find a million reasons as to why you lost. But whenyou winning, if you go back in the film room and try to get back to getting better and hitting some of the plays that we didn'thit or running a better route here, or that kind of stuff helps you down the line. That's why earlier in the year when I said welost those two games, it wasn't just a loss, it was a good lesson for us. We learned a lot and kind of tried to get back on the right track and make some of those plays that we missed. So going in the right direction is just, that's part of the job. You see good things happen. Of course, everybody wants to be, I guess overzealous in a way, or kind of excited. But us, we just wantto get back to what's going on. We left some plays out there. We want the young guys to come in and play at a high level too, so, yeah.

I apologize if someone has already asked you about Rhamondre Stevenson. His performance today, I know that CoachVrabel said that the game plan was to run the damn ball. To be able to have a performance like that from him given whathe's gone through over the course of the year.

It's not surprising. I mean, I feel like I have a decent relationship with Dre (Rhamondre Stevenson). I feel he can play at a high level and we all mess up. Having turnovers or stuff like that. It is not just all about him. We got to protect the guy with the ball as well. If you're not finishing a block and your guy makes the tackle, it's just as much your fault as the guy that is running the ball. But we got 100 percent confidence in him. We see he can play at a high level and just reiterate, and I kind of try to give him that positive energy on the sideline, like, 'We got your back.' Right, wrong, or indifferent, I say we got you, just know that we got your back, and you see him when he has that confidence, he's a hell of a back

When you were coming off the field, you said that's five, but there's a lot more left in the tank there. What do you see the potential of this group being now as you guys enter the middle part of this year?

Trying to get six. Easy to say, we want everything and all these things. Right now, we just want six. Getting back in, I think they [Cleveland Browns] had a hell of a game, they just beat the Miami Dolphins. And that's a good team, so enjoy this for six hours. I'm not even going to give it half a day. And then when we get back to the film room, we got to get up early. So, I just think that it's a lot more out there. It's not so much about the other teams. It's much more about us. If we can play better ball and play better team ball, complementary, I think you don't know where this team can go from here.

It's rare in the league to play three straight games in three weeks without a bye or anything. on the court. What did you learn about your group during this three-week stretch?

Road warriors. Road warriors. Competitive, competitive stamina, going into hostile environments and excelling and playing exceptional football. I think the biggest thing is not turning the ball over. Drake (Maye) is doing a great job at that and then the defense getting TOs. We need those and giving us those short fields and stuff like that. It's just everybody, special teams, offense, everybody feeding off each other. Going in the right direction and where we it want to go. We're taking steps.

Did you at least enjoy the Vrabel chants at the end and what did you make of them?

Good for him. He'll be back to work tomorrow though. Pretty sure he's just feeling the same way. He said something to us that was like, every week is personal, he wasn't lying. Whether it's individual or a team, you want to win each and every week, and if you don't want to win, it doesn't add another layer if you, I guess, feel a way or feel a way about a team. But he came in with the same mindset. He didn't change, he didn't do anything extra. He was just his same usual self. I can appreciate that from a player standpoint. Knowing what kind of guy you're going to get each and every week. I don't care what he says, we wanted to win that game for him.