It would benefit the Patriots if the Broncos lost in Week 14.

That’s rather obvious, right?

New England entered its bye week as the only 11-win team in the NFL, and Denver would match that win total if it claimed a victory against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Overall records are most impactful when it comes to playoff seeding, of course, but should two teams have the same regular-season record, a series of official tiebreakers then will factor in. After head-to-head results — the Patriots and Broncos haven’t and will not play this season — comes conference record and...

Following a Monday night victory, the 11-2 New England Patriots are off on their bye week. Players were given Wednesday through Sunday off before work restarts on Monday with a simple message: We’re not satisfied.

Here on Pats Pulpit, our focus this week has been on the Giants win before breaking for the bye. For anything else not covered previously, let’s clean out the notebook. Welcome to this week’s edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.

Strength is in the unit

Mike Vrabel and the Patritos offensive coaching staff has drilled a simple message to quarterback Drake Maye this season:...

Since losing to the Steelers on Sept. 21, the Patriots have rattled off 10 consecutive wins, surging to the top of the AFC standings and establishing the team as a true Super Bowl contender. The only thing that could possibly stop New England is… NFL scheduling rules?

Yes, the Patriots will take a break while the rest of the league battles for playoff positioning in Week 14. New England will certainly use the bye week to get healthy before the final stretch of the season, but head coach Mike Vrabel has made it clear that he wants his players to...

The New England Patriots established themselves as the more physical team during their victory over the New York Giants on Monday.

It’ll end up being a costly result for some, however.

Jaylinn Hawkins was fined after being flagged for unnecessary roughness during the matchup. The NFL reached into his pockets and grabbed $9,944, a relative slap on the wrists for his first fine of the season.

Theo Johnson ($6,488) and Andru Phillips ($7,292) were each fined for their own unnecessary roughness penalties in the matchup, adding to the insult of an embarrassing loss for New York.

Christian Elliss, who had...

Public opinion on longtime New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has rarely been high. Whether it be the cheating scandals or stoic personality, the 73-year-old coach has seldom made it easy for football fans to cheer him on.

Apparently, this sentiment extends to former players as well.

On Wednesday, three-time Super Bowl champion Ted Johnson turned heel on “WEEI Afternoons” with a staunch criticism of his former head coach.

“I would say Belichick, by far, is the most responsible for the cheating scandals,” said Johnson.

“I don’t know if a coach has had more success than Bill when it...

The Tennessee Titans went 3-14 the season after firing head coach Mike Vrabel.

After earning the first overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Titans are 1-11 and five games away from securing a second straight top selection.

Long story short, the decision hasn’t delivered the results Tennessee had hoped for.

But for Tennessee radio personality Jared Stillman, Vrabel owes his success to owner Robert Kraft’s decision to take the offensive coaching staff hiring out of Vrabel’s hands.

“What I can’t get over is how Mike Vrabel has been able to, in New England, overcome his single biggest issue...

A former New England Patriots stalwart suggested that fans should root against Drake Maye to win the 2025 NFL MVP award.

Maye is once again the MVP favorite after steering the Patriots to their 10th straight win on Monday night. David Andrews thinks the second-year quarterback deserves the honor, but the ex-center told CLNS Media’s Mike Kadlick and Taylor Kyles that he hopes Maye doesn’t get it.

“‘Is he the MVP? Yes,” Andrews said. “Do I want him to win it? No.”

Why does Andrews want his 2024 teammate to get snubbed? The Patriots won two of three Super Bowl...

The New England Patriots picked up a fairly comfortable victory over the New York Giants in Week 13, with the final score settling in at 33-15. Thanks to touchdowns from Marcus Jones and Kayshon Boutte, the Pats had a 17-0 lead early in this game that they never relinquished.

For much of the 2025 campaign, the Patriots have been notoriously bad on defense to begin the game, as they frequently allow their opponents to put points on the board on their first drive. After receiving the ball first, though, New England kicked a field goal before forcing New York to...

Drake Maye has jumped back ahead of Matthew Stafford as the betting favorite to win the NFL MVP award. Mina Kimes feels the New England Patriots quarterback warrants that status.

The ESPN analyst labeled Maye the rightful MVP front-runner on her “Mina Kimes Show” podcast. Kimes isn’t dinging the second-year star for New England’s schedule after Maye led a 33-15 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night.

“I do not watch him and go, ‘Wow, he’s feasting on easy competition.’ Maybe more so than any other quarterback, and this is why I believe he is correctly the MVP...

The New England Patriots are enjoying some well-earned time off during their bye week. However, for head coach Mike Vrabel, there was one big order of business he had to take care of before the team returns to action.

During the month of November, Vrabel partook in “Movember,” which saw him grow out a moustache to help raise awareness for men’s health. The cause hit home extra hard for Vrabel this season, as defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has missed the majority of the 2025 campaign after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in September.

Vrabel’s moustache drew quite a bit of...

The New England Patriots are idle in Week 14, but they can take another step toward an AFC East title if the Buffalo Bills falter.

New England wields a 2.5-game division lead entering its bye. While the Patriots can’t clinch the AFC East this weekend, the Bills’ slim chances of mounting a comeback would shrink if they lose to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Buffalo’s defense will be without two key players when it faces Joe Burrow and Co. this Sunday. The Bills ruled out defensive end Joey Bosa (hamstring/wrist) and linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow) on Friday.

Bosa recorded his team-leading fifth...

There isn’t a Patriots game this week for the first time since late August, so I imagine that a lot of you out there will either be taking this Sunday off from the NFL or tuning into the RedZone Channel, losing the remote between the couch cushions, and spending the day rooting against the various teams competing with New England for a postseason spot while praying to the fantasy gods that you can sneak into one of those last few open playoff slots. And so I thought now would be a good time to send everyone a gentle reminder regarding...