Patriots’ Vrabel After Super Bowl LX Rout: “We Have to Remember What It Feels Like”

By [Staff Writer]

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The confetti had barely settled on Seattle’s 29-13 demolition of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX when head coach Mike Vrabel gathered his stunned roster inside the visitor’s locker room and delivered a blunt reminder.

“We have to remember what it feels like,” Vrabel told players moments after the franchise’s first championship-game appearance since the Tom Brady era ended in disappointment. “If we can build on it, then we can use this experience as a positive eventually and understand what you have to do in big games to win.”

The words capped a historic yet bittersweet debut season for the 48-year-old coach, who claimed NFL Coach of the Year honors only three nights earlier. New England’s 307-day journey from training-camp optimism to the Lombardi Trophy’s doorstep unraveled in four quarters of uncharacteristic mistakes, stalled drives and a relentless Seattle pass rush that dropped quarterback Drake Maye six times.

“We just have to not let mistakes pile up,” Vrabel said. “Can’t let one bad play turn into two bad plays. Be able to settle down and be better early on in drives. That just wasn’t the case.”

The Patriots never found offensive rhythm. Positive plays were followed by sacks, penalties or hurried throws, and the defense could not generate the game-turning turnovers that had fueled the club’s run through the AFC playoffs. The result: a 16-point deficit that felt larger than the final scoreboard showed.

Asked specifically about the offensive line’s performance, Vrabel bristled.

“Nobody played good enough for us to win. Do you have a follow-up?” he said, closing the topic with the same terse edge he displayed on the sideline.

Despite the lopsided loss, Vrabel praised the resilience of a roster that exceeded external expectations from Week 1.

“I reminded them that we are 307 days into what hopefully is a long, successful relationship and program,” he said. “It’s OK to be disappointed. We have to be disappointed and upset together.”

Quarterback Drake Maye, who fought back tears while addressing reporters, echoed his coach’s sentiment.

“He was the heartbeat. No doubt about that,” Maye said of Vrabel. “He’s always the same. Look forward to my relationship with him for a long time. He’s a great person and a hell of a football coach.”

Vrabel indicated that the bond forged during the season will be essential when the team reconvenes this spring.

“We can’t be divided, we can’t be frontrunners,” he said. “Sometimes in this game of professional football you lose and you still have to be able to do those things. And hopefully you will.”

The Patriots now head into an offseason earlier than hoped, but with a unified message reverberating from the desert: remember the sting, and make sure it is not repeated.