It might not have been a blowout like in Week 4, or a major upset against one of the NFL’s best teams as in Week 5, but the New England Patriots’ win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 6 is still one to feel good about. Not only is the 25-19 victory the Patriots’ third straight to improve to 4-2 on the year, they also avoided falling into the dreaded “trap” after their high-profile W against Buffalo one Sunday prior.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was also happy with his team’s performance, so much so that
he ended up giving every Patriots player a game ball afterwards. He furthermore mentioned that he saw “glimpses of good football” out of his team during his postgame presser — a verbal level of enthusiasm rarely shown by the 50-year-old at the podium.
“None of it was perfect today,” Vrabel said. “Give them a lot of credit: they competed, they answered. But we extended plays and made some huge plays down the field. Glimpses of good football. We’ll have to clean up a lot of things, but certainly great to go on the road and be able to get a win.”
Of the Patriots’ four wins this season, only one has come at Gillette Stadium. The other three, meanwhile, were all earned on the road — including Sunday’s hard-fought battle with the Saints.
New England leaving the Superdome with a victory is a testament to the team’s preparation and mental readiness. There was no drop-off against a one-win opponent, nor were there any signs of frustration given what can be described as uneven levels of officiating.
For a young team like the Patriots, that is in itself something to build on. Right, Mike Vrabel?
“It’s better than an old team getting out of here with a loss, I would say,” he claimed.
“We will never not enjoy and embrace winning in this league, but I do think that guys are very aware of the fact that it can be better and that it will have to be better the more that we go along here and play. I think that that’s a good sign, that they know that there are some plays that we left out there, that we could have played better. But to do that on the road and be able to end it with the ball offensively in victory formation is fun.”
