Mike Vrabel says Patriots are working on two things Monday, coming off first playoff win in 7 years
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel met with reporters on Monday, a day after his team earned a dominant victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.
Vrabel said the Patriots are looking at Sunday's game to see how they can improve, while also starting to scout whoever their next opponent will be.
Who will the Patriots play next?
New England, the No. 2 seed in the AFC, is now 15-3 on the year.
With the win Sunday night, the Patriots will now play either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Houston Texans on Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs. The time has not yet been determined. It will be announced Monday night at the conclusion of the Texans-Steelers game.
"There's two things we're working on today. We have to be able to identify some things that we can reasonably try to correct and enhance," Vrabel said. "And the other thing is trying to prepare for an opponent who we won't know who it is until tonight. So we'll have to do work and both teams and be ready to go, and that's just how it is."
Gillette Stadium atmosphere
The Patriots struggled at times offensively Sunday night, but their defense more than made up for it in a 16-3 win over the Chargers.
A former Patriots player himself, Vrabel was asked about what was an electric atmosphere thanks to the fans at Gillette Stadium.
"I thought it was amazing. I think it starts with our willingness to play to a style that our fans appreciate," Vrabel said. "We've talked about that since as long as I can remember. If we play to a certain style, they'll embrace that. They'll cheer for us. I think what we do here from the stadium perspective, and the introductions and the fireworks, that's all part of it. We're in the entertainment business. We have to provide things for people to get excited about. I appreciate the way our fans have been here, I appreciate the way they've traveled, and I can't say enough about them."
Mike Vrabel on Milton Williams
Vrabel's team brought pressure on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert throughout the night, sacking him six times and recovering one fumble.
One of the key players was Milton Williams, who the team brought in during the offseason on a massive free agent contract as the defensive lineman left the Philadelphia Eagles to come to New England.
"We did a lot of work on Milt coming out, like a lot of teams. I would say that everything we thought of him coming out is exactly what we saw in Philadelphia and then saw here. His constancy has been really good and his leadership. And certainly has come up in big moments," Vrabel said.
Los Angeles never found the end zone Sunday night, and the Patriots stopped them on fourth down three times.
Drake Maye's bounce back play
Quarterback Drake Maye did not have his best game, throwing one interception and fumbling twice. One of those fumbles was recovered by the Chargers.
Still, the NFL MVP candidate was 17 for 29 on the game for 268 yards, and ran 10 times for 66 yards. Maye was 11 for 14 for in the second half, and found Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter for the game's only touchdown.
Vrabel pointed to one sequence in the first quarter where Maye bounced back after throwing an interception at his own 8-yard line. The Patriots defense held the Chargers on the ensuing possession with a fourth down stop.
When New England got the ball back, Maye found running back Rhamondre Stevenson on a check down pass similar to the one he was trying to throw when the ball was tipped and intercepted the previous drive.
"I give Drake credit. We get one tipped there trying to get it to a back, that gets intercepted. We come back the very next drive, we're on the two yard line, and he's throwing that thing from his end zone and they don't cover the back. They blitz, don't cover the back, don't cover Rhamondre," Vrabel said. "So to me, that's like a long handoff. That was a huge play in the game. For Drake to be able to come back and do that and say, 'hey, there's a guy who standing there and get ready to jump up and bat the ball, and I'm going to make sure that I throw it around him,' I thought that was a big play."