The New England Patriots are just one win away from appearing in the Super Bowl.

Expectations are soaring high, and the pressure is overwhelming, especially for Mike Vrabel. He took over as the Patriots' head coach only last January and has confessed that he is not holding on to any expectations.

Vrabel is solely focusing on doing well with his team

Appearing on WEEI 93.7 FM, the former three-time Super Bowl Champion was asked by Curtis, the host, if he could believe he and his team reached this position?

To which he replied: “You know, I joke about this, but I probably- it’s serious as- with no expectations, you can’t be disappointed.”

The Patriots rank No.1 in the AFC East and had a regular-season record of 14 wins and only 3 losses. Postseason, they’ve won both their matchups against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers.

The turnaround is notable, considering that the franchise had managed only eight total wins across the two seasons before Vrabel’s arrival as the team’s 16th head coach.

Much of that success has coincided with the steady performance of quarterback Drake Maye. Yet, despite having an asset like Maye on his roster, Vrabel remains grounded. Vrabel's stellar results in his maiden season are somewhat of a case study. And yet, Vrabel said he is breaking down game plans every day and hoping for the best.

“So, I just try to come to work each day and figure out, you know, ‘what it is that we have to do?’ and if we’re getting ready for games, then I’m going to get everybody prepared and try to have a plan,” he confessed.

“And then if we’re not, then we’ll figure out what part of the off-season we’re in. So, I just haven’t gotten caught up into it too much. I just want to try to be great for everybody here,” Vrabel added.

Drake Maye, the phenom

This season, the star quarterback has been consistent with his passes.

Maye scored 31 touchdowns against eight touchdowns for 4,394 yards. With a quarterback ranking of 77.1, the 23-year-old gave some standout performances. 

One of his standout performances came in Week 12 against the Bengals, when he threw a high pass for 294 yards and followed that with five touchdowns against the Jets.

Most recently, his three-touchdown performance against the Texans in a 16 - 28 game propelled them closer to the Lombardi Trophy in their 12th Super Bowl campaign.

But Drake Maye Cannot imagine the Patriots Without Vrabel

In a post-game press session after defeating the Texans, Maye stated that despite victories in the postseason, the road to the Super Bowl will not be easy. But the team is fired up and playing hard, thanks to Vrabel’s coaching. 

“It's going to keep on getting tougher. We keep on playing great defenses with great quarterbacks and teams that deserve to be here. That's what we feel like we deserve to be here, and we've got times where we know we'll have to be at our best in critical moments,” Maye said.

“One of the best things about coach, he coaches hard, but he also cares about us a lot. I think that goes a long way. Coach Vrabel, he's a constant now.”

The stakes are as high as it gets for the Patriots. A loss at this stage would be a major heartbreak for fans after such a dominantseason.

What do you think? Will the Patriots take the trophy home this year? Who are you rooting for?

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das