Image courtesy of the New England Patriots
It’s hard to win any game in the NFL. It’s usually much harder to win road games.
New England is 2-0 on the road this season after Sunday night’s thrilling 23-20 win over Buffalo, snapping the Bills’ 14-game winning streak at Highmark Stadium.
While it’s a small sample size under Mike Vrabel, the Patriots’ ability to win in a tough environment is one thing, but it’s how the Pats closed things out Sunday night and down in Miami a few weeks ago that’s been most impressive.
New England faced adversity on the scoreboard a few different times against Josh Allen and on every occasion, Drake Maye and the offense had a response. That’s truly the sign of a strong-willed, mentally tough football team.
I asked Vrabel on Monday morning if there’s anything in particular he’s liked about his team’s approach to road games so far.
“I thought we had a good week of practice. I think that they were really focused on what the environment would be, what that would look like, and how we would have to operate and function,” he said. “I thought that was really important for a lot of young players that maybe haven’t been in a game of that magnitude. It was good to see them respond and operate.”
In the same answer, Vrabel also touched on a few calls that went against the Patriots on Sunday night, making things a little bit harder.
“I mean, we had the one, I guess, false start on the short yardage, that was disappointing how close that was. I mean, that’s how they call it, some of these guys. Hunter [Henry]’s line of scrimmage penalty’s frustrating. Looking over at an official that’s 15 yards away. And I’ll have to try to get some clarification on that and how we’re going to do this going forward. But proud of the guys and the way they competed.”
Carlton Davis III and Christian Gonzalez spoke on Monday morning as well. I asked each of them if there’s a rhyme or reason for the early success on the road, particularly against two division opponents.
“I think our approach every week is the same, as far as like, our preparation,” said Davis III. “We never want to fluctuate how we prepare, but we’ve just been doing really good on the road. I’m not sure exactly what it is. I know that we’re preparing the same way and that we try to give it everything we’ve got every week. I don’t think a road game would dictate how we prepare, but we’ve just been having a lot of success on the road so far.”
“We just had a good week of practice,” added Gonzalez. “We had a plan, we stuck to the plan, went in and executed it. But, now we’ve got to stack on it, you know? We gotta keep winning games and take it week-by-week, day-by-day and just get ready for the Saints this week.”
New England gets two more opportunities the next two weeks to show they can keep things rolling in hostile environments. Up first is the Saints and the Super Dome, a place Vrabel and the organization have plenty of fond memories in.