The Patriots added top-name talent in free agency and the draft under Mike Vrabel, and preseason play suggested several roster upgrades are working. Persistent avoidable mistakes and penalties continue to undermine the team's performance and nearly erased a key forced fumble against the Giants. A defensive holding penalty on Jordan Polk negated a turnover that had been recovered by Jabrill Peppers after a Jack Gibbens forced fumble. Those self-inflicted errors produced pushed-back downs and negated big plays last season. With an easier 2025 schedule and improved personnel, eliminating mental errors and penalties is essential for postseason contention.
It is beyond clear that the Patriots have a lot of fixing they need to do during the upcoming NFL season if they want to be an improved, or better yet, a competitive team once again. Mike Vrabel and the new regime attempted to change some of the biggest concerns with the roster by adding some top-name talent in free agency and the draft, and based on what was seen during the preseason, it appears that much of it worked.
One of the moments that stood out the most against the Giants was an impressive forced fumble by Jack Gibbens, which Jabrill Peppers then recovered. It was an easy turnover for the Patriots, but due to an avoidable penalty by Jordan Polk, it was canceled out. Jack Gibbens forced a fumble, and Jabrill Peppers recovered it. However, Jordan Polk was called for defensive holding.- Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) August 22, 2025
Those are the kind of issues the team consistently created for themselves last year, resulting in pushed back downs, negated big plays, and more. That cannot be something that defines this team in 2025, or else they have a lot further to go than they had hoped they'd be under the watchful eye of Mike Vrabel. Penalties will inevitably happen, but the avoidable mistakes that only make their job harder cannot become the crux of their season.
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