New England Patriots - NESN.com
The good times kept rolling for Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots on Thursday night.
New England improved to an NFL-best 9-2 with a 27-14 win over the New York Jets. The Patriots have eight straight victories behind Vrabel, matching their combined win total from the prior two seasons.
Vrabel and Drake Maye spoke to Prime Video’s crew at Gillette Stadium after the game. The head coach praised his young team when former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick asked how much fun he’s having this season.
“A lot,” Vrabel responded. “My youngest son, Carter, is the same age as Drake, and I’m thinking, ‘My God, am I old.’ I’m 50. And it’s just so much fun because these guys are experiencing a lot of these things for the first time.”
Maye isn’t the only fresh face steering New England’s offense. The second-year quarterback is protected by rookie left tackle Will Campbell and left guard Jared Wilson. Vrabel said his young players are looking to learn.
“I forget that sometimes. I forget that the left side of our line is 21 and 22 years old and our quarterback’s 23,” Vrabel continued. “And it’s like, OK. Well, there’s going to be a lot of firsts for this program. I tell them, ‘Hey, this is new for us. Let’s attack this, let’s understand what this looks like.’ And they’ve responded, and they have at least taken to coaching every day.”
Those weren’t the only young guns to shine on Thursday night; rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson scored a career-high three touchdowns in another breakout performance.
The Patriots haven’t lost since Week 3, so it’s easy to see why Vrabel is having so much fun leading a playoff contender. New England is on to Cincinnati to play the Bengals next Sunday afternoon.
