As the Patriots cruised to a 29-26 win over the Bills, one of the biggest stories after the game was Mike Vrabel’s 15-yard penalty that led to Buffalo’s score before halftime.
Vrabel’s foul came with 1:48 left in the second quarter and the Bills faced third-and-goal at the New England 16-yard line. Josh Allen threw an incomplete pass on the play, but Buffalo was awarded a first down after Vrabel was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Allen ran for a game-tying run five plays later.
Fortunately for Vrabel, his team bailed him out by outplaying the Bills in the second half. New England started the half with a 14-play scoring drive that ended with Allen being ejected. The win evened the Patriots’ record at 2-2 and snapped Buffalo’s two-game lead in the division.
Later, both Vrabel and official Bill Vinovich spoke about the incident.
“He came out of the box, came over to the official and said, ‘That was a terrible call,'” Vinovich said when asked about the decision to penalize Vrabel.
In succession, Vinovich was asked if this situation usually warranted a warning rather than a punishment.
“I don’t know how you’re going to warn,” he replied. “It’s not something that’s going to happen twice. When you use language like that, it’s almost a given.”
And Vrabel doesn’t think his actions warranted a penalty.
“I’ve said that 87 times since I’ve been a head coach,” Vrabel said. “There’s nothing demeaning about it. You know, you should have asked him. I think he was a bit sensitive. … I probably shouldn’t have sworn, but I can tell you that in my history of being sidelined as a head coach, I said it and apologized to him. Again, the players responded. This was better.
It’s been a busy few months for Vrabel, who began 2026 by leading the Patriots to the AFC title in his second season in New England.
In April, news broke about Vrabel’s relationship with NFL reporter Dianna Russini. Shortly thereafter, Vrabel announced that he was entering counseling.
New England’s 2026 season has been a roller coaster so far. The Patriots lost in Seattle in Week 1, beat the Steelers convincingly in Week 2, and were blown out by the Jaguars last Sunday.
On Sunday, the Patriots got a much-needed bounce-back performance from quarterback Drake Maye, who has struggled through New England’s first three games. Maye threw three touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Buffalo.
Maye’s performance earned him a game ball from Vrabel.
“Hey! We’re not buying any more f—–g s–t!” Vrabel was heard yelling at Maye that Vrabel would not be punished.