The New England Patriots put together a disappointing performance in their first regular-season game under Mike Vrabel, and the head coach seemed to issue a warning to his players after the game.
The Patriots began their 2025 season with a 20-13 home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. They were unable to run the ball effectively, and their offense did not look much better than the one that contributed to a 4-13 campaign in 2024.
Defensively, the Patriots gave up 362 passing yards. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith carved New England up over the middle of the field with tight end Brock Bowers (five catches for 103 yards) and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (eight catches for 97 yards).
After the game, Vrabel was asked if he was surprised by his team’s performance. He said he is more interested in seeing how they respond to it.
“I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised by anything,” Vrabel said. “Now, we’ll see where we’re at. We’ll see what kind of football team we have and what kind of leaders we have, to be able to come back in here and get to work. I think that’ll be the true test.
“We always talk about culture and everything else. We’ll see where we’re at as a culture and as a team and if we have guys who want to work and stick together. It’ll be a big challenge to do that.”
