NEW ORLEANS — Sitting inside the visitors’ locker room in the Caesars Superdome, Rhamondre Stevenson was talking to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson.
The Patriots had just won their third-straight game, beating the New Orleans Saints, to improve their record to 4-2. Although that streak and win total don’t mean much, Stevenson explained why it was significant.
Stevenson is one of the few holdovers from previous Patriots teams. He experienced both four-win seasons over the last two years. On Sunday, the Patriots matched that win total in their sixth game under new coach Mike Vrabel. Their three-game streak is the longest winning streak since the 2022 season.
“It means a lot,” Stevenson said. “I was just telling the guys. Like, Trey hasn’t been here. I love it, and I’m going to take it and celebrate as much as possible because we didn’t have too many of these. Just getting the W with the guys is great.”
Over the last two seasons, the Patriots were stuck in a strange place among their NFL peers.
In 2023, we saw the end of Bill Belichick’s dynastic reign in New England. Since Tom Brady left, hope vanished on Sundays inside Gillette Stadium. Other than a 10-win 2021 season, the good ‘ole days looked further and further in the rear-view mirror.
Belichick’s end with the Patriots came to a crashing halt. If nothing, his end brought the team a piece of the puzzle with Drake Maye. Last year was all about the quarterback and his potential. The Patriots roster was underwhelming, and their rookie head coach, Jerod Mayo, wasn’t prepared for the job.
That was clear throughout another 4-win season.
What’s clear now is that the Patriots finally have the right combination to fix the mess left behind. With Maye, it’s no longer about his potential. As seen on Sunday, the 23-year-old looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL already. Standing on the sidelines, Mike Vrabel gives the Patriots a coach with a clear vision and ability to reach his players.
“[Sunday] didn’t go how we wanted it to in the second half, but we were still able to get the win. That’s what matters,” rookie Will Campbell said. “It’s like coach says, it’s a good feeling when you feel like you have to correct a lot and still get a win. That means you’re not scratching the surface yet.”
Under Vrabel’s leadership, it took the Patriots one offseason to change the direction of this franchise. No one is saying this team is a Super Bowl contender, but at the very least, they’ve shown they can beat bad teams (Carolina Panthers), good teams (Buffalo Bills), and sneak out tough wins on the road (Saints).
As Campbell said, the fact that the Patriots struggled at times on Sunday only adds to the elevated expectations.
In the first half, the Patriots offense scored three touchdowns, Maye had a perfect passer rating, and the offensive unit looked dynamic. In the second half, the group mustered only three points and had several killer penalties, including three in a row on third down.
On defense, the Patriots didn’t force a punt until 4:23 of the third quarter. They struggled to get off the field against the fifth-worst scoring offense (18.4 points per game) entering this week.
Despite it all, they still won.
“It means a lot,” Michael Onwenu said. “We had a lot of penalties today, so we’re beating ourselves. I think in the first half we only had three or four third downs … It’s a new locker room. I’ve been here for a while, but seeing the guys here, seeing the guys excited to come to work and putting in the work daily. You see it and see the product on Sundays.”
Over the last two years, people grew accustomed to watching the Patriots lose.
The team failed to develop their first-round quarterback, Mac Jones. They lacked star power. There was infighting. Players questioned their coaches, and last year, the head coach’s direction.
The toll of the losses added up. Hope was briefly lost.
Then came Maye. Then came Vrabel.
The Patriots have the third-youngest starting quarterback in the NFL. He looks like one of the most promising players in the league. They now have a more-than-capable head coach in Vrabel. It’s a combination that should scare others in the NFL.
The Patriots are back. Or at least they’re showing that this new era is a hell of a lot more fun than anything we’ve seen in a while. Hope is back. Finally.
“It feels good. I feel like these last two years were the longest years of my life,” Hunter Henry said. “Losing sucks in this league, and winning is awesome. It’s hard to win. It’s hard to win on the road. That’s a good football team over there. So, a big challenge in a loud environment again. That was a big one.”
Story by Mark Daniels, MassLive.com.
