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Mike Vrabel Can Already Do What Bill Belichick Never Could With the Patriots

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 12:15 PM ET

Not only does first-year head coach Mike Vrabel have the New England Patriots atop the AFC East, but he’s only one game away from doing something that Bill Belichick never did.

New England enters Sunday’s game against the woeful Titans riding a three-game winning streak, and the Patriots’ last two games have come on the road. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye engineered a 23-20 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 before last Sunday’s 25-19 nailbiter against the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome.

According to ESPN, the Patriots haven’t won three consecutive regular-season road games since 1961, when they still played in the AFL. To be clear, this applies to a Patriots team playing three straight road games; New England is already 3-0 on the road.

New England played three straight regular-season road games in 2001 (2-1), 2002 (2-1), 2017 (2-1), and 2020 (1-2) under Belichick. The Patriots won two of three in every season except 2020, when they fell to the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins.

Mike Vrabel Is an Early Contender for Coach of the Year

FanDuel Sportsbook gives Vrabel +500 odds (bet $100 for a $600 payout) to win Coach of the Year, trailing only the Colts’ Shane Steichen. Based on what he’s done so far, especially considering how badly things have gone in New England since Tom Brady’s departure following the 2019 season, it’s hard not to see Vrabel capturing the award at the Patriots’ current pace.

Longtime New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick never won three consecutive regular-season road games, even when he had Mike Vrabel at linebackerKirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Vrabel is proving something that many understandably questioned in recent years: New England can win without Brady at quarterback. Although the topic of whether or not Brady carried Belichick is a conversation for another day, it’s undeniable that second-year quarterback Drake Maye has taken monumental steps under Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft also deserves serious credit for pursuing Vrabel and ending the Jerod Mayo era after a single season. It would have been easy for Kraft to stubbornly stick with Mayo and hope that if the Patriots brought McDaniels back, they’d manage to make the playoffs for only the second time in six seasons.

Instead, Kraft saw an opportunity to hire Vrabel, and the Patriots pounced. The early results have proven fruitful, with the Patriots already holding victories over the rival Dolphins and Bills. A 2-0 start in the AFC East could pay dividends if tiebreakers are needed to determine the division champion when the season ends.

What’s Next for Vrabel and the Patriots?

The FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Patriots as -7-point favorites (-110, bet $100 for a $190.91 payout) over the Titans as of Friday morning. We’re surprised that the line isn’t slightly higher, seeing as the Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan earlier this week.

Vrabel and the Patriots finally return to Foxborough in Week 8, playing the Cleveland Browns (1-5) and Atlanta Falcons (3-2) in consecutive home games. New England hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2021 and last won the AFC East in 2019.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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