It’s hard not to get lost in the accomplishments the Patriots have already accomplished.
Their 14 wins are the most in NFL history by a team that lost 13 or more games last season, underscoring how drastic the turnaround has been.
They won 14 games for the first time since Tom Brady’s last season in 2019, earning the AFC No. 2 seed. This is the first time since 2018 that the team has been ranked first.
Sunday’s game will mark the first home playoff deficit since 2019.
As fate would have it, the Patriots lost in the final playoff game to the Tennessee Titans, then coached by Vrabel. Back with the Patriots, with whom he won three Super Bowls as a player, Vrabel hopes Sunday will be the start of Gillette Stadium returning to being a frequent home for January games and a tough place to play, all in the same place.
“Well, it’s just going to be a tough place to play in January,” Vrabel said. “If we’re going to get there in January the way we are, we’re going to have to create an environment that makes it tough to play. Whatever the record was when I was looking at the stats in 2019, 21-3 or whatever it was in January — I’m going to be out for a few games because it’s been a couple of years — but we were talking about what we needed to do to get the crowd, good and hard. feed us and let us feed on them.”
The message from Vrabel is clear: The Patriots are back in the playoffs, and back at home, but that’s not good enough.