Mike Vrabel pushes back on Robert Kraft tempering expectations for Patriots season
After Robert Kraft said the Patriots overachieved in 2025, Mike Vrabel disagreed with the sentiment. He instead wants it to be the standard.
Mar 31, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesAfter watching his organization win double-digit games for the first time in four years, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was candid when reflecting on his franchise’s achievements in 2025.
“I think actually the team way overachieved what any of us thought would happen, and it was wonderful,” Kraft said. “Winning that championship game in Denver when we have such a past history of difficulty winning in Denver, it was very special, so proud of this team, and most of them are still young.”
New England finished 4-13 in back-to-back seasons before Mike Vrabel’s arrival at the start of the 2025 offseason, marking the start of an organizational overhaul. It was vital to its unexpected appearance in the Super Bowl, along with second-year quarterback Drake Maye garnering serious respect as an MVP candidate throughout the regular season. Many sportsbooks had the Patriots' win line at 8.5 games, a stark difference compared with their 17-4 record.
With the culture he established in his first year as head coach, Vrabel was quick to push back against Kraft’s sentiment about the Patriots overachieving.
He expects it to be the standard.
“Championships will remain the goal,” Vrabel said. “It will never change. Appreciate Robert's support, but we want to win the (AFC East) Division. We want to host the playoff games, and we want to compete for championships. And so we got a taste of that. We saw what that looked like.
“We understand what this looks like. We're going to play the division winner schedule, and that's how it goes.”
As one of six divisional winners in the NFL, the Patriots will have one of the highest strengths of schedule in the league. They’ll play nine games, five of which are on the road, against teams that made the postseason in 2025. It is a large increase compared with their 2025 slate, which included eight games against opponents drafting inside the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
“We have a pretty tough — I think the hardest — schedule,” Kraft said. “A lot of West Coast travel. My objective every year is we make the playoffs. And as we saw last year, when you're privileged to make the playoffs, anything can happen.”
