FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Despite his reputation for being someone who never rests on his laurels, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been the recipient of much praise over the last 48 hours.
After guiding his team to their 23-20 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, Vrabel is being heralded by several national pundits for helping raise the Pats from the doldrums of the AFC. Yet, for his players — including cornerback Christian Gonzalez — the new “HC of the NEP” has found success by setting the proper example.
“I love Vrabel. He’s an amazing coach,” Gonzalez recently told reporters at Gillette Stadium. “An energy guy, big energy guy. Brings a lot of energy to the team. The things he does, the way he coaches, it’s easy to go out there and play for him. You want to go make the plays and put on for him and this organization, so it’s awesome playing for Vrabes.”
While most analysts gave New England little-to-no chance for defeating the defending AFC East champions, Vrabel cultivated a culture of optimism and perseverance throughout the week. His strategy ultimately paid off. Quarterback Drake Maye led the team on five scoring series — including the game-winning drive with time expiring in the fourth quarter. Receiver Stefon Diggs had 10 catches for 146 yards. In the end, victory was sealed by rookie kicker Andres Borregales hitting a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.
Despite being just one week removed from returning to the Patriots lineup, Gonzalez made his presence felt against Buffalo’s top pass catchers. After missing the season’s first three games with a hamstring injury, Gonzalez has reclaimed his spot as the team’s top defensive back since returning in Week 4. Against Buffalo, the Oregon product compiled six tackles and a pass breakup in the Week 5 win, helping limit Bills quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen to 253 passing yards on 31 attempts.
Though Gonzalez is arguably at his best in man coverage, his ability to maintain eye contact with the quarterback also made him an asset in zone. As such, he made life difficult for Allen and both veteran Khalil Shakir and second-year wideout Keon Coleman. Gonzalez’s break up of Allen’s fourth-quarter pass intended for Shakir on 3rd and 10 at the New England 27-yard line helped keep the Patriots within reach of victory inside the final two minutes of the game.
Through the ebb and flow of their Week 5 victory, Vrabel continued to keep New England’s ship steered in the right direction. As they shift their attention to a road battle with the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, Vrabel’s top defender knows that the team must exceed last week’s efforts to enter the discussion of possible playoff contention.
“We know what we got,” Gonzalez said. “So, I mean, we just went out there and showed it. Now we got to stack on it. It’s a good win, but it don’t mean nothing if we can’t stack.”
