#mike-vrabel

#mike-vrabel

🤮 https://t.co/YGBg40N90L- Shawne Merriman (@shawnemerriman) January 6, 2026

Mike Vrabel aced many of the most challenging decisions in his first season as Patriots coach, perhaps none more than with running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The reward is that the Patriots now have one of the NFL's hottest players entering Sunday's wild-card round playoff game against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers (8 p.m. ET, NBC). Stevenson enters the postseason having scored six touchdowns in the past three weeks, which ties for the NFL high over that span with Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Bengals running back Chase Brown.

Throughout the past several offseasons, Patriots fans made it clear that the offense needed a top-tier wide receiver, which only became more important once they added Drake Maye to their roster. That was also the main goal of the new regime led by Mike Vrabel, ultimately leading them to sign Stefon Diggs in free agency after several other teams chose to pass.

On Wednesday morning, it was reported by WCVB Boston that the veteran is "facing a domestic assault charge, according to court documents out of Attleborough District Court" and has been "charged with one count of assault and battery on a family/household member." The Patriots were quick to release a statement to express their awareness of the situation and shared that Barmore is on the books for an arraignment in February.

When Robert Kraft made the shocking decision to move on from Bill Belichick after two decades, there was a clear frontrunner to be the Patriots' next head coach. The problem was that he was still serving that role for another team for at least a few days longer, and Kraft was hellbent on getting Belichick's successor in as soon as possible.

If the Patriots' Week 16 game had gone far differently than what it inevitably became, which was a win, the conversation on Monday would be all about a head-scratching decision that immediately doomed their chances of leaving Baltimore the victors. Fortunately, that didn't come back to haunt them, and a fourth-quarter comeback led by Drake Maye allowed them to tie the Broncos for the best record in the league and maintain their one-game edge over the Bills for the AFC East.

Top linebackers like tackling machine, Robert Spillane, who'd averaged more than 150 tackles the previous two seasons, and the emerging linebacker, Christian Elliss, missed tackles all over the yard in the first few games. They looked like they had goose grease on their hands as they missed tackle after tackle, helping to lose to the Raiders and Pittsburgh in two eminently winnable games.

Among the biggest problems with the Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Bills, a side from blowing a 21-point halftime lead, was the officiating. Although it's never ideal to discuss how referees may have impacted a game one way or the other, it's sometimes too big a story to ignore, and that is partly the case with this loss. Beyond the questionable pass interference calls, one of which took away an obvious interception by Marcus Jones, there was also a noticeable lack of penalties on the Bills.

After a much-needed bye week, the Patriots were immediately tested in Week 15, as they welcomed the Bills for their second matchup of the season, which could have sealed the division in their favor for the first time in six years. Based on how they played in the weeks leading up to the game, which included a 10-game win streak, it looked like the Bills should be the underdogs on the road.

Basically, Vrabel told us that his players understand they're going to get hit if they don't go out of bounds. And, for the most part, his words have been well-received. On the latest episode of The Pat McAfee Show, NFL legend JJ Watt chimed in on the conversation. "I think that the players love playing for a coach that says stuff like that and publicly goes out there and defends them. Phenomenal," Watt told McAfee.