New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel took a major risk during his team’s Week 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and fans all said the same thing after it paid off.
The Patriots were trailing 10-7 and had 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 1:44 remaining in the first half at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Buccaneers called their third timeout in hopes of getting the ball back if New England scored, but Vrabel made sure his opponent did not have that opportunity.
Knowing that the Bucs could not stop the clock again, Vrabel had Drake Maye essentially take a knee at the 1-yard line to take more time off the clock. The Patriots wasted a play in the process, but Vrabel had confidence that his team would score within the next three plays.
New England then ran the ball with rookie TreyVeon Henderson on second and third down. Henderson tried to get into the end zone but was stuffed for no gain both times. The Patriots then called a timeout with 2 seconds remaining and went for it on fourth down. Maye threw a fade to Stefon Diggs, who made an outstanding play to get both of his feet in for the touchdown.
OH MY TOE TAP STEFON DIGGS 🤯
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/M7Zm9LTh6c
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 9, 2025
Had the Patriots failed to score, everyone would have questioned why Vrabel traded a potentially valuable first-down play to manage the clock. The decision paid off beautifully, which led to all kinds of praise for the New England coach.
Mike Vrabel pic.twitter.com/LmrUzkacbo
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) November 9, 2025
Mike Vrabel has been the best coach in the league this season as far as critical decision making, my god
— KDOT 🦇 (@kdot89_) November 9, 2025
Vrabel is so ballsy
— Brett 🦃 (@Brett_Pats) November 9, 2025
Vrabel had Maye sit down on first down pic.twitter.com/DIsYXG8X8U
— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) November 9, 2025
Vrabel and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels have been pulling all the right strings for weeks, which is why New England entered Week 10 on a six-game win streak. The goal line decision shows how much faith Vrabel had in Maye to make a play.
Maye has played at an extremely high level in his second NFL season. One prominent analyst gave the former North Carolina star a massive compliment this week.