Following a Monday night victory, the 11-2 New England Patriots are off on their bye week. Players were given Wednesday through Sunday off before work restarts on Monday with a simple message: We’re not satisfied.

Here on Pats Pulpit, our focus this week has been on the Giants win before breaking for the bye. For anything else not covered previously, let’s clean out the notebook. Welcome to this week’s edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.

Mike Vrabel and the Patritos offensive coaching staff has drilled a simple message to quarterback Drake Maye this season: throw the ball to the open receiver in the progression.

Monday night’s 33-15 victory over the New York Giants was a prime example of such, as Maye completed at least one pass to eight different pass catchers. Maye’s trust and ability to distribute the football too each, in addition to the groups’ unselfishness, has been perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the Patriots turnarounds on offense.

“The strength of our wide receiver unit is in the unit,” Vrabel explained. “I know that that’s hard for a position, especially that position, but everybody’s catching passes, everybody’s catching touchdowns, they’re trying to block when they don’t have the ball. And I understand and I appreciate that. And so, I remind them of that.

“It’s not going to be just one guy getting 15 or 16 targets every week. I just don’t think that that’s what this is. I appreciate their unselfishness, and I think that that is just a small microcosm of what I want our football team to look like and feel, and be excited when Kyle [Williams] catches a touchdown, when Kayshon [Boutte] catches a touchdown or whoever it may be that gets a big third down conversion for us.”

A year after the Patriots wide receiver group finished last in the league in yards, the group enters a Week 14 bye ranking third in football (2,171) behind just the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.

The stark change of production on the field ties back to the group’s unselfish attitude and relationship off the field as they root for their teammates’ success, while also making sure to push each other.

“It is hard not to feel it. As soon as you walk through the building, you see we share a whole locker, so we are always just cracking jokes and uplifting everybody,” rookie Kyle Williams said. “It is hard to be in a bad mood when you’ve got so many joyful people around you.”

“The camaraderie, guys really pulling for each other. It’s not fake out there,” Stefon Diggs added. “You want the guys to play well, you want the guys around you to play well. Throwing those extra blocks and doing all that. I think it goes a long way. We’re super hard on each other. I think the accountability is there, coming from when a guy doesn’t get as many yards or does this, we all hold each other accountable.”

A remodeled wide receiver room that began up top with positional coach Todd Downing has been key for the turnaround. Rookies such as Williams and Efton Chism III have brought fresh blood while free agent addition Mack Hollins, who began a superstition within the group of wearing certain color practice pants depending on the day, brings 10 years of NFL experience as a sounding board for the entire group.

But perhaps no addition was as key as Diggs, who leads the team with 705 receiving yards and could be the first Patriots wide receiver to break the 1,000-yard mark since 2019.

”He has an energy and a spirit to him that I think the guys gravitate towards. But I would say the biggest thing, the thing I’m probably most impressed by, is he has the ability to laugh at himself,” Vrabel said.

“Nowadays, it’s hard sometimes; he’s in the public eye and you don’t have the ability to laugh at yourself, and you take yourself way too seriously. I appreciate that with everybody, and especially Stef. Whether guys are getting on Drake, or getting on Stef, I think that’s the thing I’m probably most proud of. If they make fun of me, then I have to laugh at it. I think that’s all part of it. It’s all part of being a team.”

During his six seasons as head coach with Tennessee Titans, Mike Vrabel was a perfect 6-0 following the bye week. That included five wins by at least two scores, with the only single-score victory coming in his final season in charge with a 28-23 win over the Falcons.

Vrabel will look to extend that streak to seven with a win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, which would clinch the Patriots their first AFC East division title since 2019.

Entering the Week 14 bye week with his Patriots atop the NFL with 11 wins, Vrabel is the odds on betting favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year — which would mark the second time he won such honor (2021). While that is not the focus of anyone inside Gillette Stadium, Vrabel has the vote of his QB and locker room.

“The award, I think he’d probably say the same thing. He’s worried about each and every week, and that stuff will come,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “But he’s got my vote, and he’s got a lot of people’s vote. He’s got everybody’s vote in this organization, in that locker room and I’m sure across the league.”

Following his pick-six in Week 12, Marcus Jones found the end zone again last week as he took back a punt 94 yards for a touchdown. The pair of scores gives Jones five non-offensive touchdowns since the start of his rookie season in 2022 — the second most in the NFL behind Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (6).

Jones, however, is the only player in the league to score an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown since ’22.

“I know Pro Bowl, but I think he’s an All-Pro player,” Stefon Diggs said of Jones. “I don’t know how they do it as far as like All-Pro, but if they have an all-around athlete that does everything, I think he should damn sure be in the conversation.”

After five days off, the Patriots will be back inside Gillette Stadium on Monday where they will get a bonus day of work on the practice field. While they are expected to resume the usual weekly schedule afterwards (practice plus injury reports Wednesday through Friday), the exact media schedule remains TBD.

Monday, Dec. 8: Practice, Mike Vrabel media availability, player media availabilityTuesday, Dec. 9: Day offWednesday, Dec. 10: TBDThursday, Dec. 11: TBDFriday, Dec. 12: TBDSaturday, Dec. 13: Pre-game walkthrough, practice squad elevationsSunday, Dec. 14: Game day vs. Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium (1:00 p.m. ET)