Mike Vrabel gave Patriots players brutal warning after playoff win over Chargers

Less than 24 hours after the New England Patriots advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs via their 16-3 wild-card home victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged that there were "a lot of things for us to improve on." 

According to New England quarterback Drake Maye, Vrabel delivered a more stern message to his players behind the scenes after the Patriots learned they will host the Houston Texans this coming Sunday.

Mike Vrabel warned Patriots players they could spend conference championship Sunday at home

"There’s 24 teams at home right now," Maye revealed about what Vrabel told the team, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "There’s eight of us practicing and still working. He mentioned it to us [Wednesday] before practice, 'Take a look, raise your hand, who was still practicing at this time last year?'"

Maye noted that he thought defensive tackle Milton Williams "was the only" player to raise his hand after Vrabel spoke. 12 months ago, Williams was helping the Philadelphia Eagles complete a playoff run that ended with the team winning Super Bowl LIX.

To his credit, Maye previously admitted he will need "to be better" than he was when the Chargers held the New England offense to nine points for more than three quarters of action on Jan. 11. With under 10 minutes to play in the game's fourth quarter, Maye connected with tight end Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown. 

Mike Vrabel certainly got through to Drake Maye ahead of Texans game

"It’s just eye-opening to see, man," Maye added. "There’s eight teams left, and this is a chance, an opportunity that we have, to play a home football game, a home playoff game, at a time when it matters most. Just reflect on that and realize the opportunity we have, and at the same time, how much work we’ve done to get here and enjoy it. He just reminded us to take advantage of it and know that we’ve got a chance."

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as three-point favorites over the Texans. If nothing else, it sounds like Vrabel will have Maye and the rest of the New England squad fired up for that clash.