The New England Patriots players seem to be having fun under head coach Mike Vrabel. In Week 17, Vrabel didn’t just beat the New York Jets; he made a statement on the field while recording a dominant 42–10 win, and defensive tackle Christian Barmore couldn’t help but react to it. Barmore took to social media and spoke about Vrabel’s heated moment right before the second half. 

“Love my coach man 😂😂,” Barmore wrote on X while reposting a clip by NBC Sports’ Kevin Moore. 

In the video, Vrabel can be seen telling the Patriots to “F*** ’em” while calling a late timeout near the end of the first half. The moment came with only 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and the Patriots were leading 35-3. Rather than letting the clock run, Vrabel used his final timeout after his team had just sacked quarterback Brady Cook and forced the Jets to snap one more play. However, Barmore wasn’t the only one who found it hilarious.

The very clip also captured the priceless reactions from star quarterback Drake Maye and safety Brenden Schooler on the sideline. On the field, the Patriots matched their coach’s energy and continued grilling the Jets in the remaining two quarters. The Jets opened the ball but couldn’t move it, coming up short on third down and failing on a fake punt. Maye’s took over the opponent’s 47-yard line with running back TreVeyon Henderson making a 16-yard run.

Then, running back Rhamondre Stevenson followed with a 17-yard catch on third-and-7 before Maye finished the drive with a touchdown to wide receiver Efton Chism. With that, the Patriots pushed their lead to 42-3. Head coach Aaron Glenn’s team made a brief comeback in the fourth quarter with running back Breece Hall’s 59-yard touchdown run. After this, the Patriots’ offense slowed down, and the Jets tried to swing the momentum.

But it only resulted in stalled drives, including an incomplete fourth-down pass near the goal line and another fourth-down stop late. Mike Vrabel’s team eventually exhausted the clock and sealed a stunning win. However, it wasn’t a win without controversial moments as Barmore found himself in a heated sequence with the Jets. 

Barmore loses cool, Mike Vrabel steps in to de-escalate

On Sunday, Christian Barmore grabbed headlines for locking horns shortly after his coach’s timeout decision. The defensive tackle got into a heated exchange with Jets right tackle Armand Membou, claiming the lineman deliberately fell on him after the whistle. Consequently, Vrabel and other teammates stepped in and physically held him back to prevent the situation from escalating. Barmore later shared his side of the story after the game.

“What happened was sorry ass No. 70 do dirty-ass (expletive) behind my back,” he told The Boston Herald. “People want to talk (expletive), but he ain’t out there on this field. I’m just saying, bro. They want to act tough, you go in the locker room. … The play was already over. I heard the whistle blown. Bro came behind me and literally landed his whole body on my back.”

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The footage shared by journalist Glenn Naughton from that play supports part of his account. It shows that Membou indeed came down on Barmore after a third-and-long draw play. Interestingly, the referees didn’t throw a flag. Vrabel spoke about the incident calmly after the game.

“I was just reminding everybody to keep their composure,” he said. “We have an identity we’ve shown, and that we’ve put out there on the football field, and to make great decisions for the football team. We don’t want to give people free yards. That was it. Just a reminder.”

Despite the tempered flaring, Mike Vrabel’s team didn’t lose focus and let the scoreboard do the talking.