December 2, 2025 • 10 mins
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addresses the media during his postgame press conferences immediately after New England's 33-15 win over the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium on Monday, December 1, 2025.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Won't bring me in, introduce me. Then hell, go ahead, guys,
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We'll start with.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Okay, this Mike, your thoughts on getting to this point,
the energy that your team came out with, the hitting,
and what they were able to accomplish, and now as
you headed to the buye.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Uh, well, I'm happy to be at the buye, happy
to be where we're at. Continue to improve, we have
to finish better, but at least uh, you know, we
came out ready to go. We focused on being aggressive
and attacking and keeping that mindset, and then I think
we did.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
And Mike.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
Just curious with Viderian Lowe and Ben Brown slotting in,
just how you felt they did tonight with you know,
I think you talked pre game a little bit about
the Giants defensive front and just how that was going
to be a challenge and just how those two handled
it stepping in.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Well, I think they handled it well. I mean we
had some positive plays.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Obviously offensively, we need to be better in the red zone,
but you know, I thought that they did well again
from first view. We'll have to see what things go
on tomorrow. It was penalty that costs us a touchdown,
so that's tough, but you know a lot of good
things to build on and continue to improve and you know,
(01:18):
really focus on things that we're going to have to
do a little bit better down a stretch here. But
you know, I think that just proud of what the
team has done weekend and week out, whatever the challenge
was and whatever has been presented to.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Us, pretty consistent and loud MVP chance for Drake tonight,
just what impressed you most about his performance?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And I think he's able to keep his composure, to
keep his eyes downfield. You know, I thought he you know,
makes some of the best plays. I think are just
the extensions to scramble for a first down, you know,
to scramble and stay in bounds there late in the game,
knowing the situation for is them to call a time
out and then you know, not throwing incompletion there at
(02:04):
the end of the game, and you know, scramble un
selfishly probably could have said, hey, I'm going to try
to throw a touchdown and you know, just go and
slide and you know, use the clock. So those are
the things that probably don't show up on the stat sheet.
I thought, you know, being accurate downfield and being able
to give you, Okay, Sean a real catchable ball there
(02:28):
in the end zone was nice too. Also, it's December first,
how much longer are you going to keep the mustach?
It'll be gone tomorrow. I mean, I couldn't have done
all this and not go out on Monday night football.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I had to. It'll be gone tomorrow probably before I
talk to you.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
Uh, Mike, how would you describe just the message in
terms of, you know, knowing the bye week was looming,
knowing the Giants came in with two wins, and just
making sure that your guys, you came out so fired up.
What was that messaging and in that way?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, I don't know how many wins they've had.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I know that they get ahead and they were had
had Denver beat, and had some other teams beat, put
a bunch of points and yards up on Detroit and
you know, Chicago and all those other teams. So you know,
I think it was about just being aggressive and attacking
and you know, trying to keep a competitive stamina throughout
(03:25):
the game and a demeanor no matter what happened. And
I like the way that we started and you know,
like to finish a little bit better. But you know,
we're we're doing a lot of good things to help
us win, and I know there's some things that we
can do to continue to improve on.
Speaker 7 (03:42):
Right Mike, you've said being aggressive and attacking a couple
of times does the way some of the way that
Christian Ellis had some of those bigger hits at the
beginning of the game. Is that something that everybody feeds
off of. Is that something that I think I certainly did.
I think our fans did, I think our team did.
And again that's you know, it's a weekly reminder to
(04:04):
the quarterback, our quarterback, you know what I mean. We
show him every week, Like I wouldn't get too cute
over there by the sidelines. It it happens every week.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And so, uh, Christian's playing you know, through the through
the whistle and as long as the player's in bounds,
he's gonna try to hit him legally.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
And then on a kickoff, you know, we we take
a lot of pride and cover and kicks. Uh. It
was a match up.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
They were top five and we were you know, they
were number five and we were number six, and kickoff
and I expect us to be in the top five,
and you know, That's what I try to tell our
kickoff coverage team. So it was, uh, it was good
to see that the impact that it can make, and
you know, get turning the ball over as well. Mike,
How important was it to keep momentum uh heading into
(04:51):
the buy.
Speaker 7 (04:54):
Mm?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
I mean, I don't know if I looked at it
like that, but I mean I think we just focused
on what the next task was and you know, put
a plan together and allow our players to feel confident
in it, and then figure out what the bye week
is and who needs to be here for treatment and
who needs to get away, and.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That's kind of really what we focus on.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And I don't think I was necessarily concerned with any
sort of let down because the buye was here. I
think that be a lot of players and people that
are ready for the buye and earned it. But I
don't think that, you know, we were looking ahead to anything.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Mike, You're right here kind of similar, but I mean
ten straight wins now week after week. You guys keep
taking care of business and avoiding the slip up. What's
been the key to not having one of those?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Just things we talk about and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
You know, doing our best to take care of football
and playing complimentary. You know, just today was obviously special
teams that gave us. You know, Marcus is just a
fantastic returner and uh, you know, I'm proud of the
guys on that unit. They take a lot of pride
and walking for him. We took care of the guys
on the edges, and you know, those are those are tough,
(06:11):
those are those are those can be backbreaking for an opponent,
and so we try to do everything we can to
avoid them, and we try to create them. So I
think just the complimentary phases, they ain't consistent in the
message and the players coming in here each and every
week and.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Practicing and preparing and.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Obviously executing, and then when things don't go right, try
to get them fixed and come back to the next drive.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Open three final questions and here Andrew Callaghan.
Speaker 8 (06:40):
Three, Hey, Mike, whether it's working around injuries, a short week,
just using new personnel packages and play calls, the resourcefulness
of your team, what does that meant to you in
this season?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Our staff, you know, I mean, I'm obviously very thankful
of the coaches, uh that prepare our players.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
They've done a fantastic job.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
You know, Josh and Zach and the defensive staff and
and Jeremy with the special teams and helping spread the
message that I try to have each and every week.
But then ultimately it's on the players. It's always be
about the players, and you know, trying to give him
a plan that they believe in and that they can
go out there and execute. And you know, whether that's
(07:24):
different guys at different places, you know, I just I'm
proud of them and I'm happy for them that they
can have some success. And you know, I think people
you know, can see who we have and the next
guy steps up and can play and and produce. Greg question, Mike,
(07:46):
so you can ask your question.
Speaker 9 (07:49):
Uh, just what do you think of Drake's performance tonight?
He seemed to be in control and didn't seem to
be bothered by you know, the issues with the offensive
line with guys out.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, I would say that that was an issue.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Just we've put the next two guys in there, and
you know, Ben's been ready for his opportunity. Verderia has
been working hard and worked hard in offseason to come
back from from his shoulder and uh so again I
get those guys a full week of practice.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I thought you know, you know, Drake Is.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I think he's really he's realizing what what he can
be and what the impact that he makes on this
offense and being the conductor.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
He's hard on himself.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches,
and I mean he means a great deal to this football.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Team and just being able to.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Not get rattled and escape or pressure and find remandre
or scramble and you know, and then when we do
have time and you know, he sees a guy win
and put the ball great spot there for Kyle to
make a huge play or Key Sewan down there in
the red zone. So you know, a lot of third
down conversions. So again, I you know, very appreciative that
(09:05):
he's our quarterback. Can you speak to the effort of
the defensive line with so many guys missing or banged up,
and also Elijah Ponder getting some more opportunities inside as well.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I meant, you know, Corey Durden's been playing a lot
for us, and we brought him over here from from
the Giants practice squad or from the Giants. You know,
they let him go and you know, again that game
meant a lot to him. You know, they told him
that he wasn't good enough to play for the Giants,
and and we thought that he was good enough to
play for the Patriots. So I'm happy for him. It was,
(09:39):
you know, made some plays and continues to help us
but also help himself.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And I love that you mentioned Ponder.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You know, just trying to get some other guys in
there rushing and with some speed, and you know, obviously
their quarterbacks can can scramble and run, and you know,
we just felt like that was a package that we
could try to use and get some other people out
on the field.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Thank you.
Won't bring me in, introduce me. Then hell, go ahead, guys,
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We'll start with.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Okay, this Mike, your thoughts on getting to this point,
the energy that your team came out with, the hitting,
and what they were able to accomplish, and now as
you headed to the buye.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Uh, well, I'm happy to be at the buye, happy
to be where we're at. Continue to improve, we have
to finish better, but at least uh, you know, we
came out ready to go. We focused on being aggressive
and attacking and keeping that mindset, and then I think
we did.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
And Mike.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
Just curious with Viderian Lowe and Ben Brown slotting in,
just how you felt they did tonight with you know,
I think you talked pre game a little bit about
the Giants defensive front and just how that was going
to be a challenge and just how those two handled
it stepping in.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Well, I think they handled it well. I mean we
had some positive plays.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Obviously offensively, we need to be better in the red zone,
but you know, I thought that they did well again
from first view. We'll have to see what things go
on tomorrow. It was penalty that costs us a touchdown,
so that's tough, but you know a lot of good
things to build on and continue to improve and you know,
(01:18):
really focus on things that we're going to have to
do a little bit better down a stretch here. But
you know, I think that just proud of what the
team has done weekend and week out, whatever the challenge
was and whatever has been presented to.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Us, pretty consistent and loud MVP chance for Drake tonight,
just what impressed you most about his performance?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And I think he's able to keep his composure, to
keep his eyes downfield. You know, I thought he you know,
makes some of the best plays. I think are just
the extensions to scramble for a first down, you know,
to scramble and stay in bounds there late in the game,
knowing the situation for is them to call a time
out and then you know, not throwing incompletion there at
(02:04):
the end of the game, and you know, scramble un
selfishly probably could have said, hey, I'm going to try
to throw a touchdown and you know, just go and
slide and you know, use the clock. So those are
the things that probably don't show up on the stat sheet.
I thought, you know, being accurate downfield and being able
to give you, Okay, Sean a real catchable ball there
(02:28):
in the end zone was nice too. Also, it's December first,
how much longer are you going to keep the mustach?
It'll be gone tomorrow. I mean, I couldn't have done
all this and not go out on Monday night football.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I had to. It'll be gone tomorrow probably before I
talk to you.
Speaker 6 (02:48):
Uh, Mike, how would you describe just the message in
terms of, you know, knowing the bye week was looming,
knowing the Giants came in with two wins, and just
making sure that your guys, you came out so fired up.
What was that messaging and in that way?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, I don't know how many wins they've had.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I know that they get ahead and they were had
had Denver beat, and had some other teams beat, put
a bunch of points and yards up on Detroit and
you know, Chicago and all those other teams. So you know,
I think it was about just being aggressive and attacking
and you know, trying to keep a competitive stamina throughout
(03:25):
the game and a demeanor no matter what happened. And
I like the way that we started and you know,
like to finish a little bit better. But you know,
we're we're doing a lot of good things to help
us win, and I know there's some things that we
can do to continue to improve on.
Speaker 7 (03:42):
Right Mike, you've said being aggressive and attacking a couple
of times does the way some of the way that
Christian Ellis had some of those bigger hits at the
beginning of the game. Is that something that everybody feeds
off of. Is that something that I think I certainly did.
I think our fans did, I think our team did.
And again that's you know, it's a weekly reminder to
(04:04):
the quarterback, our quarterback, you know what I mean. We
show him every week, Like I wouldn't get too cute
over there by the sidelines. It it happens every week.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And so, uh, Christian's playing you know, through the through
the whistle and as long as the player's in bounds,
he's gonna try to hit him legally.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
And then on a kickoff, you know, we we take
a lot of pride and cover and kicks. Uh. It
was a match up.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
They were top five and we were you know, they
were number five and we were number six, and kickoff
and I expect us to be in the top five,
and you know, That's what I try to tell our
kickoff coverage team. So it was, uh, it was good
to see that the impact that it can make, and
you know, get turning the ball over as well. Mike,
How important was it to keep momentum uh heading into
(04:51):
the buy.
Speaker 7 (04:54):
Mm?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
I mean, I don't know if I looked at it
like that, but I mean I think we just focused
on what the next task was and you know, put
a plan together and allow our players to feel confident
in it, and then figure out what the bye week
is and who needs to be here for treatment and
who needs to get away, and.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That's kind of really what we focus on.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And I don't think I was necessarily concerned with any
sort of let down because the buye was here. I
think that be a lot of players and people that
are ready for the buye and earned it. But I
don't think that, you know, we were looking ahead to anything.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Mike, You're right here kind of similar, but I mean
ten straight wins now week after week. You guys keep
taking care of business and avoiding the slip up. What's
been the key to not having one of those?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Just things we talk about and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
You know, doing our best to take care of football
and playing complimentary. You know, just today was obviously special
teams that gave us. You know, Marcus is just a
fantastic returner and uh, you know, I'm proud of the
guys on that unit. They take a lot of pride
and walking for him. We took care of the guys
on the edges, and you know, those are those are tough,
(06:11):
those are those are those can be backbreaking for an opponent,
and so we try to do everything we can to
avoid them, and we try to create them. So I
think just the complimentary phases, they ain't consistent in the
message and the players coming in here each and every
week and.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Practicing and preparing and.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Obviously executing, and then when things don't go right, try
to get them fixed and come back to the next drive.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Open three final questions and here Andrew Callaghan.
Speaker 8 (06:40):
Three, Hey, Mike, whether it's working around injuries, a short week,
just using new personnel packages and play calls, the resourcefulness
of your team, what does that meant to you in
this season?
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Our staff, you know, I mean, I'm obviously very thankful
of the coaches, uh that prepare our players.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
They've done a fantastic job.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
You know, Josh and Zach and the defensive staff and
and Jeremy with the special teams and helping spread the
message that I try to have each and every week.
But then ultimately it's on the players. It's always be
about the players, and you know, trying to give him
a plan that they believe in and that they can
go out there and execute. And you know, whether that's
(07:24):
different guys at different places, you know, I just I'm
proud of them and I'm happy for them that they
can have some success. And you know, I think people
you know, can see who we have and the next
guy steps up and can play and and produce. Greg question, Mike,
(07:46):
so you can ask your question.
Speaker 9 (07:49):
Uh, just what do you think of Drake's performance tonight?
He seemed to be in control and didn't seem to
be bothered by you know, the issues with the offensive
line with guys out.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, I would say that that was an issue.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Just we've put the next two guys in there, and
you know, Ben's been ready for his opportunity. Verderia has
been working hard and worked hard in offseason to come
back from from his shoulder and uh so again I
get those guys a full week of practice.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I thought you know, you know, Drake Is.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I think he's really he's realizing what what he can
be and what the impact that he makes on this
offense and being the conductor.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
He's hard on himself.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches,
and I mean he means a great deal to this football.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Team and just being able to.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Not get rattled and escape or pressure and find remandre
or scramble and you know, and then when we do
have time and you know, he sees a guy win
and put the ball great spot there for Kyle to
make a huge play or Key Sewan down there in
the red zone. So you know, a lot of third
down conversions. So again, I you know, very appreciative that
(09:05):
he's our quarterback. Can you speak to the effort of
the defensive line with so many guys missing or banged up,
and also Elijah Ponder getting some more opportunities inside as well.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I meant, you know, Corey Durden's been playing a lot
for us, and we brought him over here from from
the Giants practice squad or from the Giants. You know,
they let him go and you know, again that game
meant a lot to him. You know, they told him
that he wasn't good enough to play for the Giants,
and and we thought that he was good enough to
play for the Patriots. So I'm happy for him. It was,
(09:39):
you know, made some plays and continues to help us
but also help himself.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And I love that you mentioned Ponder.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You know, just trying to get some other guys in
there rushing and with some speed, and you know, obviously
their quarterbacks can can scramble and run, and you know,
we just felt like that was a package that we
could try to use and get some other people out
on the field.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Thank you.
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