New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was left looking for answers after his team’s blowout Week 4 loss in Jacksonville.
He found the answer in Buffalo.
The Patriots bounced back in Week 5 with a thrilling 29-26 victory over the 3-0 Bills. Drake Maye overcame his early-season struggles with three touchdown passes, including the game-winner hauled in one-handed by Efton Chism III. The defense largely held perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen in check.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was an encouraging and hard-fought win for Vrabel’s group. According to Patriots safety Kevin Byard, Vrabel set the tone for New England’s gutsy victory with his pregame messaging.
“I truly believe that the culture of a team is exposed when you face adversity,” Byard said on Tuesday’s Early Edition. “Let’s face it, we got our behinds whooped in Jacksonville. And I think starting from Monday, from the team meeting we had to taking the off day to prep for this team, watching film, and obviously coming in on Wednesday, I think the tone was set that Vrabel kind of spoke the message that the answer to getting ourselves back on track is right in this room.
“We don’t have to search for anything outside of what we already have, believe in what we have, and I think guys kind of really took heed to that. It was very rewarding or just exciting to be able to finally kind of — I won’t say get the monkey off your back, but to go up in Buffalo and get a huge win on the road, first win in Highmark Stadium too as well, so I’m kind of proud of that as well.”
To get his message across, Vrabel referenced the famous clip of Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson stepping over Los Angeles Lakers guard Tyronn Lue in the 2001 NBA Finals. Iverson drilled a 3-pointer over Lue, then stepped over him in what became one of the most iconic snapshots in NBA history.
“He showed a video of the famous Allen Iverson, NBA Finals, making the 3-point shot, stepping over Tyronn Lue. So at first, you don’t really know where he’s going with it. … I think the overall messaging was, ‘it’s time to start stepping over people.’ You know what I mean? It’s time to get back to where we’re stepping over people and making sure that we’re not about to be the team that’s gonna let people bully them. …
“So yeah, I think that was kind of the overarching message to, hey, we are physical. We are a tough team. Let’s, let’s start stepping over people kind of like how A.I. did in that video.”
Vrabel’s Patriots channeled Iverson’s stepover last season, starting 1-2 and finishing 14-3 with division and conference titles. The schedule is tougher this year, and the injuries are mounting, but the mindset is the same.
New England will look to carry its momentum back home as it prepares for a Week 6 showdown with the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium.
Watch Kevin Byard’s full Early Edition segment below: