Mike Vrabel first said it at halftime.<\/p>\n
In a sideline interview on his way to the locker room, the New England Patriots head coach downplayed his role in a go-ahead touchdown as the first half expired. How to explain the decision on what became a fourth-down back-shoulder throw from Drake Maye to a toe-tapping Stefon Diggs?<\/p>\n
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\u201cPlayers, not plays,\u201d Vrabel told CBS. \u201cAnd certainly Drake [Maye] and [Stefon] Diggs are two of our best players.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a 28-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>, Vrabel repeated the phrase.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got confidence in our guys,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cTo be able to have confidence in them and them come through, that was about players and not necessarily plays.\u201d<\/p>\n And in case the point needed driving home further, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles explained his team\u2019s loss: \u201cTheir players made plays. Our players did not.\u201d Bowles added that he needed to coach better.<\/p>\n And yet: The well-deserved praise Vrabel has received may be overshadowing another reason for the Patriots\u2019 rapid turnaround: a massive roster overhaul.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n [<\/strong>Get more Patriots news: New England team feed<\/strong><\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n Vrabel and a personnel staff led by general manager Eliot Wolf have thoroughly retooled a needy roster in the 21 months since the Patriots and Bill Belichick parted ways. The impact of the post-Belichick personnel acquisitions was strong against the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n Selecting Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft is of course the headline acquisition of the post-Belichick era, and it occurred before Vrabel returned to the club for which he had played eight seasons. But on a day when the Patriots were road underdogs and without running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), additional post-Belichick acquisitions stepped up to make an impact.<\/p>\n The cast who upset the NFC South-leading Buccaneers on Sunday comes from a strategic build in Wolf and Vrabel\u2019s tenure. Nine of 11 starters on offense Sunday joined the Patriots after Belichick\u2019s departure. Eight of the 11 defensive starters arrived via 2024 free agency or later.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a hungry team,\u201d said linebacker Robert Spillane, whom the Patriots signed in March. \u201cWe\u2019re a young team. We\u2019re a hungry team. We\u2019re a team with a lot of guys with a chip on our shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still feel like we have yet to play our best game.\u201d<\/p>\n Maye on Patriots rookies\u2019 jets: \u2018You\u2019re not going to catch them\u2019<\/p>\n With 11 seconds left in the first quarter, the Patriots returned a punt, trailing 7-0.<\/p>\n Maye faked a handoff to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson and then dropped back. Buccaneers linebacker Chris Braswell dove for Maye as he unspooled, Braswell knocking Maye to the ground just after the ball left the quarterback\u2019s hand. The ball traveled downfield to third-round rookie receiver Kyle Williams, who grabbed it in stride and turned upfield.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Accelerating to a top speed of 21.78 miles per hour, per Next Gen Stats, Williams eluded multiple Buccaneers defenders en route to the end zone.<\/p>\n His third-ever NFL catch, and first professional touchdown, went for 72 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was sensational, I don\u2019t think words can really put an explanation on that feeling,\u201d Williams told reporters after the game. \u201cWe got the look that we want. Shout out to Drake for making the alert. At that play he gets to pick [option] one or two and he picked me.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd once the ball was in my hand, I seen grass.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams wouldn\u2019t catch another pass the following three quarters, targeted only one more time. But Vrabel made clear: The rookie showed up when the team needed him, to get the ball and scoreboard rolling.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t the only Patriots rookie who would reach pay dirt.<\/p>\n After wowing NFL fans with the only kickoff return touchdown in the preseason this year,\u00a0 Henderson\u2019s first nine games for the Patriots were solid but not spectacular. Entering Sunday, Henderson had averaged 4.2 yards per attempt and 31.4 rushing yards per game. He had scored one touchdown, then spent five games out of the end zone.<\/p>\n Against the Buccaneers, with Stevenson out, Henderson broke out.<\/p>\n That Henderson received the ball on first-and-10 on the second snap of the second half wasn\u2019t surprising. But what Henderson did was reminiscent of his preseason excitement. Henderson tucked the handoff and ran straight through the middle of the Buccaneers\u2019 defense. When he somehow wasn\u2019t stopped, four Buccaneers began their pursuit at the second level. None caught him in time to avoid a 55-yard touchdown that opened the game to a two-score margin.<\/p>\n And when the Buccaneers closed the gap in the fourth quarter, Henderson buoyed the Patriots yet again. With under 2 minutes to play, Henderson caught a pitch and hit contact with defenders before the line of scrimmage. Then he escaped around the left end, hightailing it 69 yards to the end zone.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Like Tampa Bay\u2019s pursuit on the Patriots rookies\u2019 runs, the Buccaneers would not catch the Patriots\u2019 28-point production.<\/p>\n \u201cKyle got out the backdoor. He\u2019s fast,\u201d Maye said. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to catch him. Him and 32, TreVeyon. If they get going, you\u2019re not going to catch them.\u201d<\/p>\n