Like we said earlier in the week, if you believed the Patriots' players wouldn't have been trying a little harder for Mike Vrabel and the rest of the exiled former Titans in their return to Music City, we had some waterfront Florida property to sell you.
Drake Maye said everything you needed to know after the game, when he suddenly presented Vrabel with a game ball.
Wherever. Whenever. pic.twitter.com/slJ5g7uJEq
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 19, 2025
"For Coach and all the Tennessee coaches ... Coach Vrabel, we love playing for you, we're glad you're our head coach and we love you, coach," Maye said.
And with that, all of New England felt something they hadn't in years ... pride, and I'm sure some other things. And that's great. Your football team should give that to you, at least every once in a while - even if you're all spoiled compared to the rest of the league! (I kid because I love).
"Yeah, man, he brings it every day," Maye said at the podium about Vrabel. "I think he brings it every day, he challenges us, but he also cares about us and cares about us outside of the building, and I think, he's just awesome to play for. And it was pretty cool in that locker room, celebrating."
Stefon Diggs also echoed Maye in terms of the players understanding the situation in Tennessee.
“He said something to us, that was like, every week is personal," Diggs told reporters. "He wasn’t lying, whether it’s individual, or team. You want to win each and every week ... he came in with the same mindset. He didn’t change. He didn’t do anything extra. He was his same usual self. I can appreciate that from a player’s standpoint.
"I don’t care what he said. We wanted to win that game for him.”
Of course, everyone heard the Vra-bel chants that broke out in the fourth quarter, even the players.
"Yeah that was pretty cool," Maye said. "Yeah, I think that's always cool. I think that— he downplayed it all week, which we appreciate. He just focused on us and worried about us, and that's what matters. But I know that it feels good for him."
Nobody around here did, but if you questioned whether the Patriots were fully bought in, I think Sunday's 31-13 victory over the Titans answered that. That's four straight wins over the Panthers, Bills, Saints and Titans, with the last three coming on the road. Not totally a murder's row of opponents, along with less-than-sterling performances, but they all count the same, and four straight is four straight.
That's proof of concept for a lot of us, but not for Vrabel. He said he knew he had the team buying in, seeing the reaction to the Vegas loss through the win over the Dolphins in Miami.
"Probably after the Vegas game and us going on to the road to Miami and having a difficult environment to play in the heat, in the back-and-forth," Vrabel said. "I felt like that told us a lot about who we were. Just kind of dipped our toe in the water the first game. I was really proud of what they did in practice and going down there. I think that really showed them. It's always been a tough place for us to play. So, I think that was really important for us and that created a lot of positive momentum. We didn't get discouraged when we had a bunch of turnovers. But had a chance against Pittsburgh and played some pretty decent football and we've played good enough to win."
Watching Maye, mostly, and the rest of the Patriots triumph at Nissan Stadium, one couldn't help but think back to last year when the Jerod Mayo-led Patriots lost 20-17 in overtime. Maye played very well overall, including a ridiculous game-tying touchdown pass, but turned the ball over three times (including in overtime on a shot play to Kayshon Boutte). It was a terrible game coached by two unprepared rookie head coaches who are no longer heading those teams. Alex Van Pelt let Jeffrey Simmons (who was greatly missed in this one after leaving with an injury) tee off against rookie Layden Robinson. The defense couldn't stop Mason Rudolph, and allowed the Titans to have the ball for 39 minutes. The Patriots ran 12 times for 15 yards and had a ton of penalties. Oh, and Mayo took the overtime toss in the wrong direction in overtime. Basically, it was a complete mess. If you wanted to put a bag on your head as the Patriots dropped to 2-7, you would have been justified.
About two weeks shy of a year later, the Patriots looked completely different. Maye was even better and took care of the ball. Josh McDaniels had a plan for Simmons, until he left with an injury, and could actually run the ball. Maye hit his shot play to Boutte for a huge touchdown before halftime. The Patriots eventually stopped No. 1 pick Cam Ward in the second half, after getting shredded in the first. The Patriots didn't have any penalties in the first half, and just five for the game. It wasn't a Picasso performance from anyone other than Maye, but it was again professional and efficient. Those are two words we never used after Week 1 last year. This year, the Patriots are 5-2 and in first place.
And about a year later, Maye looks like Andy seeing Red on the beach at the end of Shawshank. Sounds like it too.
"Yeah, I think we've just grown as an organization," Maye said when asked about how much he's grown since then. "I think with Coach Vrabel and his staff, I think we're just buying into each other and building an identity. And I think that's what's kind of the biggest thing for me is trying to be the same player every week. And I think those guys from this game last year, yeah, left a bad taste in our mouths. So glad we came out here with a win."
And glad there's a different regime. Game ball for Vrabes.