The New England Patriots earned their first win under head coach Mike Vrabel in Week 2. However, Vrabel wasn't fully pleased with the Patriots' performance.
New England defeated the Miami Dolphins 33-27 after some wild fourth quarter circumstances. Both the Patriots and Dolphins returned a kick for a touchdown. With New England's coming second, and with an extra field goal, they were able to sneak away with the win. Still, this was a game that began by the Patriots holding a 12-0 lead.
Vrabel admitted that New England was, “willing to get in a street fight.” However, the fact the matchup went to those lengths gave the head coach a clear vision of where his team stands, via Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald.
“We're not front-runners,” Vrabel said. “And that's a big thing in this league.”
The Patriots seemed to be getting out on the right track, as Drake Maye threw a pair of touchdown passes to open the game. But both extra points were missed, perhaps sending an ominous sign. While they'd kick a field goal to stay up a point, the Dolphins scored a pair of touchdowns to cut the lead to 15-14 at half.
After the break, things went a bit off the tracks for both teams. Amongst that chaos those was a six-yard Maye rushing touchdown. He ended the day completing 19-of-23 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 31 yards alongside his touchdown. It is clear the Patriots have found their quarterback to build around.
But for the Patriots to be considered “front-runners,” as Vrabel puts it, they must play a cleaner brand of football. The season is still young, but New England cannot afford sloppy mistakes as the season progresses. Vrabel will surely be looking to fine tune any glaring issues as soon as possible.
His next opportunity will be when the Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. They'll need a more consistent performance to keep their win streak going.
