Mike Vrabel making the New England Patriots an instant contender in his first season as head coach prompted a blunt statement from one of his former players, All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who is suiting up for Week 16’s opponents the Baltimore Ravens.
He played for Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans back in 2023, and the once-elite pass-catcher knows the formula to his old coach’s success this season. As Hopkins told reporters, the Pats “play Vrabel ball and that’s solid football, don’t make many mistakes, gonna go out and try to dominate you. That’s what Vrabel’s instilled, and that’s why I think the switch from last year and this year [happened] with those guys. Having a coach like Vrabel out there coaching you, you wanna go out and compete, play hard. I played with him in Tennessee, so I see why those guys are playing the way they’re playing. It’s just solid football.”
Hopkins’ words are blunt and straightforward, the way Vrabel coaches and makes his teams tough to beat. That’s what the Patriots will be when they arrive at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, December 21, and the Ravens already have painful experience of the problems Vrabel’s overtly physical teams can pose in Baltimore.
An infamous 28-12 defeat on home soil sent the 2019 Ravens, owners of an NFL-best 14-2 record, crashing out of the playoffs, at the expense of Vrabel’s Titans. Key Ravens players like franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson no doubt remember that disappointment well and won’t take Vrabel and the Patriots lightly.
Jackson was en route to winning his first NFL MVP award back in ’19, but he needs to re-establish himself as one of the game’s premier playmakers this season. Finally igniting a prolific partnership with Hopkins would help.
Ravens Still Waiting on DeAndre Hopkins to Breakout
He’s no longer the explosive big-play threat of his peak years, but 33-year-old Hopkins remains one of the more capable wideouts in the league. It’s a mystery then, that for whatever reason, things just aren’t working for the five-time Pro Bowler with the Ravens.
Part of the problem is Hopkins hasn’t been used anywhere near enough in coordinator Todd Monken’s offense. It also hasn’t helped Jackson has spent three games on the sideline due to a hamstring injury.
Baltimore’s QB1 missing several practice sessions, while his health is carefully managed, has denied Jackson and Hopkins valuable time to build a rapport. The duo needs to click for the run-in to the playoffs.
That run will begin against a Patriots team still smarting from wasting 21- and 17-point leads to lose to AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills last week. Vrabel will send his players out to unleash maximum aggression, particularly defensively, after the unit drew the coach’s ire against the Bills.
Hopkins can take the steam out of the Pats with more plays like this 32-yard catch and run from Week 15’s 24-0 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Manufacturing yards after the catch is key to the Ravens exploiting New England’s talented secondary. Gaining separation from defensive backs “playing the eighth-most man coverage in 2025,” according to Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, will take all of Hopkins’ experience.
It’s a tough challenge, so the Ravens may rely on another former Vrabel favorite to carry the game.
Mike Vrabel Favorite Key to Week 16 Clash
Vrabel oversaw the best football of Derrick Henry’s career, but the two-time NFL rushing champion can prove a point to his old boss by reasserting himself as a workhorse for the Ravens.
Unleashing Henry makes sense after the Patriots were gashed for 168 yards on the ground by the Bills. Vrabel knows Henry’s poses “a huge challenge” as a “unique player,” per MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian.
The Patriots’ sideline general already sounds worried about how his defense will control gaps and block running lanes along the line of scrimmage, anticipating the Ravens and his former star pupil will test “where we’re at with them,” per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Vrabel’s concern is shared by PFF’s Thomas Valentine, who points out the Pats “have allowed over 100 yards of rushing in four consecutive games.” Valentine also noted how Henry “has 26 missed tackles forced and 18 rushes for 10 yards or more” since Week 6.
Getting Henry going, ideally with a few more targets and catches for Hopkins sprinkled in for good measure, is the best way for the Ravens to heap more misery on Vrabel and power their own late push to the postseason.
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