Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots are in the same position they were a year ago: 0-1 after losing their season opener following a poor performance. Only this time, the head coach is a bit more cautious, considering New England will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Week 2 matchup. Ahead of the game, the head coach addressed last week’s mistakes in a candid admission while acknowledging that the Patriots are now focused on their next game.
“Anything we did in Week 1 wasn’t good enough. Starting with me. And that’s how it is,” said Vrabel ahead of the Week 2 matchup against the Steelers. “All focus is on the Steelers, and we’ve made the corrections that I feel like we need to make, and hopefully we can continue to improve.
“We’ve said this for as long as I can remember: the teams that continue to improve are gonna be the ones that have a chance at the end. We didn’t do enough good things last week to win the football game, and our focus now has to be on the Steelers coming back in here.”
Unlike the Patriots, the Steelers are coming off a 20-13 Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Aaron Rodgers finished the game with 24-of-40 for 221 yards and one touchdown. But it was the defense that ensured the Steelers’ victory over the Falcons.
Pittsburgh limited Atlanta quarterback Cooper Rush to just 12-of-22 for 143 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, while sacking him 4 times. TJ Watt led the defense with a pick-six, two sacks, four solo tackles, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.
Mike Vrabel, meanwhile, knows the problems the Steelers’ defense could create for the Patriots’ offense, especially after Maye committed three interceptions in Week 1.
“Defensively, if you better don’t take care of the edges, it’s going to be an issue,” Vrabel said on Monday. “Strip sacks, interceptions, um, [Cameron] Heyward and [T.J.] Watt have probably 64 PBUs in the last five years, and that’s pass rush PBUs. Their ability to create ball disruption even if they don’t get there. Great length, sound. They tackled well. They caused some turnovers.”
The Patriots lost their last matchup against the Steelers 21-14 during the 2025 season. And now, they’re heading into the rematch following a disappointing performance in Week 1.
The Patriots simply didn’t play good football against the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener. New England led Seattle 10-0 late in the third quarter, but the Seahawks scored 13 unanswered points to win 13-10. The Patriots ultimately lost despite Seattle losing starting quarterback Sam Darnold early in the game.
QB Drake Maye performed poorly in the fourth quarter, with each interception coming on one of New England’s final three possessions.
The final interception came in the end zone with 26 seconds remaining, ending the Patriots’ chance to tie the game with a field goal. The QB finished with 23-of-33 for 178 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
“Everything in the passing game is built on timing and built on protection,” Vrabel said of the last pick. “So, again, if it is not where you want it and the timing of that particular play and protection, you just have to throw it away and say, “We can’t win it on this throw.” Drake [Maye] will learn from it, we will all learn from it, and hopefully we will be better for it in the end.”
Now, with the Steelers coming to Foxborough, Vrabel and the Patriots have little time to dwell on their Week 1 collapse. With Pittsburgh’s defense already proving capable of creating pressure and turnovers, New England will need to show that the corrections Vrabel talked about can translate into a much cleaner performance in Week 2.