The England Patriots were on the wrong end of one of the worst penalty calls of the season during their Week 6 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, and all Mike Vrabel could do was laugh about it.
The Patriots improved to 4-2 with their 25-19 win over the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. Vrabel’s team was able to overcome an extremely questionable offensive pass interference call in the first quarter that nullified a 61-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to DeMario Douglas.
Stefon Diggs was called for pass interference after a late flag was thrown. The flag came so late that the Patriots’ offense had already celebrated and left the field. Diggs was nowhere near where the ball was caught by Douglas, but officials apparently felt Diggs had prematurely blocked downfield on Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. You can see the video here.
Vrabel was asked about the play during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday. The coach said the officiating “becomes comical at a point.” Vrabel also praised the league for sending out instructional videos to officials, but he said he wonders whether some referees even watch them.
“It becomes comical at a point,” Vrabel said. “They send these videos out every week, and they do a great job. (NFL Officiating & Rules Analyst) Walt Anderson does a great job. (NFL head of officiating) Ramon George does a great job, and they send these videos out. … I’ll see something in the game and I’m like, ‘Did they even watch the video?'”
"It becomes comical at a point" What did Patriots HC Mike Vrabel think of the officiating? #NFL
— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) October 13, 2025
Vrabel talks coaching style- "I want them (players) to have a good time" @WEEI pic.twitter.com/pRDUoCaQQJ
The explanation from the NFL probably did not make Vrabel feel any better. Referee Adrian Hill told pool reporter Mike Reiss that a player blocking downfield is not a penalty until a pass is thrown, which is why the flag came in so late. Most people who watched the play would agree that Diggs was not guilty of pass interference, anyway.
The Patriots still scored a touchdown on the drive after receiving what looked like a couple of obvious make-up calls. There were other questionable calls throughout the game as well, so we can only imagine what Vrabel would have said had the Patriots been on the losing end.
