Around New England and the football world at large, the criticisms for Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye and the New Patriots grew louder and louder throughout the past week. And when the Bills took a five-point lead over the Patriots in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the critics were primed and ready to pounce.
What happened after that, though, was a nearly perfect five minutes of execution from the Patriots, who stopped the Bills’ 2-point conversion, marched down the field for a go-ahead score, scored their own 2-point conversion, intercepted Josh Allen, and then completed a big-time pass to drain the clock and seal the win.
It may have only been a Week 4 win to get the team to 2-2, but this was a massive win for the Patriots — and that’s especially true for Maye and Vrabel.
“I thought this was going to be a 10-point loss. I thought we were going to be talking about moral victories, about if the quarterback could just get back on track in some way, shape, or form,” Phil Perry said on Patriots Postgame Live. “And they outdid all my expectations. I thought the quarterback was dynamite at times. He also gave the ball away at times, as well. I’m sure we’ll talk about that. But he’s able to keep you in it with some big plays with both his arm and his legs, including that touchdown throw at the end. Phenomenal catch [by Efton Chism], also a great throw by a young quarterback who’s trying to find his way.”
CHIZZZZZ @EftonChism
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— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 4, 2026
“This is the kind of thing that can help them say, ‘OK, this is our identity. We’re backed into a corner here after three games. People think we’re going to lose 41-20. Well, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to come out, and Romeo Doubs is going to play well, and Hunter Henry’s going to play well, and Efton Chisholm’s going to show up even after we’ve lost Mack Hollins,'” Tom E. Curran added. “I think this is the kind of game that, similar to last year [after a Week 5 win in Buffalo] … this is at least an opportunity to look around the corner to a turning point.”
Maye did lose a fumble, and he threw an interception (which Doubs had tipped up into the air off the ground), but Ted Johnson came away looking at No. 10 as the reason the Patriots won this game.
“We should not forget that Drake Maye willed this team to a win,” Johnson said. “With his feet, he was under pressure all game long, and you know what? He was making mistakes, but he kept coming back, and he kept coming back, and he kept coming back.”
While Maye was excellent, Michael Holley looked at the head coach, who improved to 5-0 in games after his team started a season 1-2.
“So it really was a step up or step aside type of game for Mike Vrabel,” Holley said. “So he responds, and he gets his team to respond.”
Curran spoke to the impact on Vrabel and Maye after what was a unique week of questioning their relationship.
“I think it’s the biggest bounce-back for Maye,” Curran said, “because we’re putting him on the couch on a routine basis and saying, ‘What are you thinking? Why are you so indecisive? And how are you doing with this stuff?’ Always. And we’re in the middle of the week, questioning relationships between head coach and player, questioning the shoulder injury and who knew what, when and why? So I think that this really quells a lot of that conversation.”
Perry pointed out one area in particular where Maye showed drastic improvement was his ability to overcome mistakes. The Bills scooped up an incompletion and returned it for a touchdown as the officials let the play continue in case it had been a fumble by Maye. But the quarterback completed his next pass and rolled along with confidence — something that’s been missing from his game early in the season.
“I think it was big for his confidence. Wobbler of a throw to Mack Hollins for a first down,” Perry said. “Now you can kind of breathe. Moments later, it’s a 26-yard scramble and the touchdown at the goal line. And I just felt like your ability to overcome bad moments, I think, was something that the Patriots needed to see from Drake Maye. You can’t let these turnovers build on themselves and snowball and make bad situations and bad games worse ones. And so, to me, that one throw, as ugly as it was, I think might have been big for him in the rest of his day.”
For Holley, it all came back to the head coach.
“This thing could have just exploded,” Holley said of the tumultuous week. “It could have exploded, and instead, he gets the group together, and they come away with a season-defining win. Now, this is not the Super Bowl. It’s the first week of October. Let’s calm down. But they needed this one. They needed this one, and Mike Vrabel earned his money this week.”
