Drake Maye/Mike Vrabel breakthrough has many similarities to the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era

New England Patriots

It’s fitting that the new-era Patriots, like the 2001 Patriots that started it all, earned a win they will never forget in the snowy weather.

By Chad Finn

January 26, 2026 | 8:03 AM

4 minutes to read

Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …

In one sense, this is theirs and theirs alone, a stunning achievement to stand on its own.

First-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, second-year quarterback Drake Maye, and a defense that keeps getting better and better completed one of the most improbable journeys to a Super Bowl berth Sunday afternoon with a 10-7 victory over the host Denver Broncos.

The victory is the Patriots’ 17th in 20 games this season, a year after going 4-13 under one-and-done coach Jerod Mayo.

They improved to 9-0 on the road, and won in the postseason in Denver for the first time in franchise history with a poised, disciplined performance in the high altitude and snow-globe conditions.

This has been an almost unfathomably fulfilling first season of the Vrabel/Maye tandem, and what the 2025 Patriots have pulled off, even with the biggest game yet to be played, has already earned its own standalone chapter in franchise lore.

Yet, in another sense, when you’re a franchise with a half-dozen Lombardi Trophies scattered around the office, nothing is quite singular. When remarkable things happen with the Patriots, it’s inevitable that they remind us of so many somethings that happened before.

Their history, heritage, and highlights of past victories are never far from mind. When Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez easily picked off an underthrown deep ball by Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham at the Patriots 36 with 2:11 remaining, it was instantly reminiscent of Stephon Gilmore’s late interception in the Super Bowl LIII victory over the Rams.

(It was also a bit of an in-game redemptive moment for Gonzalez, who got beaten by Broncos receiver Marvin Mims for a 52-yard catch on the Broncos second possession, then got caught peeking into the backfield on Courtland Sutton’s 6-yard touchdown reception two plays later.)

It’s fitting that the new-era Patriots, like the 2001 Patriots that started it all, earned a win they will never forget in the snowy weather. It’s fitting, too, that Adam Vinatieri — the Patriots’ hero among heroes in the Snow Bowl 24 years ago — was on hand to present them with the Lamar Hunt Trophy as AFC champs.

What else? Who else? Milton Williams was Richard Seymour, the fulcrum of an immovable defense, and even pulling double-duty like Seymour used to do and lining up in the backfield on a couple of plays. Rhamondre Stevenson ran like vintage Antowain Smith, or perhaps Clock Killin’ Corey Dillon, the designated four-wheel-drive ballcarrier.

And there was Maye, who struggled to throw in the snow (86 passing yards) against a fierce Denver defense, but who ran for 65 yards and a score, including a clinching bootleg on third and 6 in the final moments.

Like Brady in his second season, he remained poised and fearless even when circumstances seemed to be conspiring against him. His best play was his gutsiest. It was new and so familiar at once, delightfully real and still hard to fathom.

Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …

Three players who were worth watching

Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Will Campbell, Milton Williams, Kayshon Boutte.

Rhamondre Stevenson: What a redemption arc for this guy. Stevenson, whose early-season fumbles had him well outside the Circle of Anything Resembling Trust for most Patriots fans, was a winter-weather workhorse, with a season-high 25 carries for 71 yards. He was at his best on a crucial 16-play, 64-yard drive to open the second half, which took 9:31 off the clock and culminated with Andres Borregales’s 23-yard field goal for the game’s final points.

Jeremy Crenshaw: The Broncos’ best weapon was — without a doubt — their punter, who kept the field tilted against the Patriots for much of the game. Crenshaw averaged 51.5 yards on six punts, placing three inside the 10-yard line, including sending two out of bounds at exactly the Patriots 8. His performance was a stark contrast to Patriots counterpart Bryce Baringer, who put 1 of 8 punts inside the 20 and had a long of 44 yards. Do they turn off the altitude at Empower Field at Mile High when the opponent is punting or something?

Leonard Taylor: Go ahead and add this name to the list of unsung, if not outright unknown, players that have come through in a huge moment in Patriots history. Taylor, who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday, got his fingertips on Broncos kicker Will Lutz’s 45-yard field goal attempt with 4:46 remaining. The kick, which would have tied the game, fluttered harmlessly to the left.

Grievance of the game

This didn’t have an effect on the outcome, but it sure could have. When Stidham finally had the panicked moment the Patriots were waiting for, retreating nearly 20 yards on a third-and-4 play with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, then heaving a backward pass that Elijah Ponder scooped up and ran in for a score, the officials initially ruled it intentional grounding. To their credit, they huddled up and changed the call to a backward pass, giving the Patriots the ball at the Broncos 12. But it should have been a Ponder touchdown, and had the Patriots offense not capitalized on Maye’s 6-yard TD run, the officials’ initial whiff on the call might have come with the kind of notoriety that Ben Dreith never lived down.

Three notes scribbled in the margins

Predicted final score: Patriots 19, Broncos 16

Final score: Patriots 10, Broncos 7

For those of us permanently nostalgic about Steve Grogan’s heyday as a running threat, it’s a blast to watch another quarterback who can make so much happen with his legs. Maye’s important runs — besides his touchdown and the clincher — included a 16-yard scamper just before halftime and a 28-yarder up the middle to set up Borregales’s 23-yard field goal in the third quarter … Mack Hollins’s two catches accounted for team-leading 51 yards — a 20-yard grab on third down in the second quarter, and a 31-yard catch on a flea-flicker late in the third. Good to have him back … It’s official: Tom Brady has passed Tony Romo on the NFL color commentator depth chart.