During his time as a player with the Patriots, Mike Vrabel won three Super Bowl rings. It would have been four, of course, had it not been for the New York Giants spoiling an otherwise perfect 18-0 2007 season with a monumental upset in the championship game. If Vrabel has a chance to poke at the Giants, like many in New England, he will take that chance.
In Monday night’s win over the Giants–the Patriots’ ninth in a row, coming by a healthy margin of 33-15, a game that was never really close–Vrabel had the perfect chance to take a dig at the Big Blue. That’s because the now 2-11 Giants cut defensive lineman Cory Durden this year, and the Patriots scooped him up and are now putting him to good use.
Durden has been playing more and more over the course of this season, and has topped 30 snaps for three straight games coming into Monday. He was over that mark again against the Giants.
Patriots Grabbed Cory Durden
Vrabel thought that was worth making note of in his Patriots postgame press conference.
Said Vrabel: “Cory Durden has been playing a lot for us and we brought him over here from the Giants practice squad—from the Giants. That game meant a lot to him. They told him that he was not good enough to play for the Giants and we thought that he was good enough to play for the Patriots. He made some plays and continues to help us but also help himself. I love that.”
There were, of course, many heroes from this easy Patriots win, starting as always with quarterback Drake Maye, who was back to his near-flawless self after encountering some choppy waters in recent weeks. Maye was 24-for-31 for 282 yards, two touchdowns and a 126.0 quarterback rating.
(Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)Cory Durden #94 of the New England Patriots reacts to a defensive stop during the first quarter of the game against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium on December 01, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Plenty of Heroes for Patriots
There was also Marcus Jones, whose stellar season got better with a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter, which put the Patriots up, 10-0. And Christian Elliss, who set a tone in the game by thwacking Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart on a running play up the sideline and later caused a Giants fumble on a punt return. Elliss had 10 tackles, and his energy fed the team.
“I think I certainly did,” Vrabel said of Elliss’s energy. “I think our fans did. I think our team did.”
Mike Vrabel ‘Proud of What the Team has Done’
But for the Patriots, the most encouraging thing to come out of Week 13, with the bye week blessedly ahead, was the play of guys like Durden, who is getting more time because of injuries. The likes of Khyiris Tonga and Milton Williams have been out, and the big concern about this Patriots team has long been its lack of depth.
If guys like Durden are carrying their weight, though, then maybe the depth issue is overblown.
That looked like the case on the offensive side, too, where there is massive concern that things might fall apart now that the left side of the line–tackle Will Campbell (knee, IR) and guard Jared Wilson (ankle, no IR)–is on the shelf. But the fill-ins of Ben Brown at guard and Vederian Lowe at tackle were certainly not a disaster.
Vrabel said he is taking some pride in that.
“I think they handled it well. We had some positive plays I think offensively, we need to be better in the red zone. But I thought they did well, again from first view. …” he said.
“A lot of good things to build on and continue to improve, really focus on things we are going to have to do a little bit better down the stretch here. I think just proud of what the team has done, week in and week out, whatever the challenge was, and whatever has been presented to us.”
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