The New England Patriots extended their NFL-best win streak to seven games with an impressive performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10, and Mike Vrabel had an awesome message for his players afterward.
The Patriots survived a late comeback bid from Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Sunday to win 28-23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. As he has done all year following victories, Vrabel greeted each Patriots player individually on their way to the locker room.
This time, Vrabel kept repeating the same three-word phrase — “NFC South champs.”
As Mike Vrabel greeted each player on their way back to the locker room, he kept saying, “NFC South champs! NFC South champs!” — a reference to the quality of opponent the Patriots beat. pic.twitter.com/COitn2HvVr
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 9, 2025
The phrase likely meant one of two things. The Buccaneers won the NFC South last year, so Vrabel may have been praising his players for beating a reigning division champion on the road. Or, Vrabel may have been declaring his own team the champions of the NFC South.
New England has played and beaten all four NFC South teams this season. In addition to their win over the Bucs, they beat the Carolina Panthers 42-13 in Week 4, the New Orleans Saints 25-19 in Week 6 and the Atlanta Falcons 24-23 in Week 9.
Either way, Sunday’s win was another reason for the Patriots to celebrate. They are now 8-2 and in prime position to win the AFC East after going 4-13 in each of the last two seasons. Vrabel has completely turned the culture around in New England, and he made another aggressive decision against Tampa Bay that paid off. Not much has gone wrong for the Patriots over the past two months.
