Mike Vrabel views Cleveland's defense as the best the Patriots have seen in 2025
The Patriots are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, with four straight victories and a schedule that contains plenty of objectively winnable games.
Still, every team (with a few exceptions) is good enough to win a game on any given Sunday. Or Monday. Or Thursday.
New England's next opponent is the 2-5 Browns. And while they've had their issues offensively, their defense is very good. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was asked on Wednesday whether it's the best his team has faced this season.
"Yeah, I mean, I think just statistically and play style," Vrabel said. "They're playing at a high level, they're with playing a lot of confidence. It's a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don't give you a whole lot of time to make decisions. And then there's enough changeups in there that you just have to be good. You have to be sound, can't hold on to the ball. Coverage is sticky and the linebackers are fast."
Vrabel spent 2024 with the Browns as a consultant, so he knows a thing or two about the team's defensive identity.
"Well, they're fast, they're disruptive," Vrabel said. "They put pressure on the quarterback, and they do it through their players and their identity. They understand what they want to do and how they want to play. They want to force you into mistakes if you give up loose plays or guys get on the edge of somebody. You've got an elite edge rusher on the outside, and if you can't step up, it's going to be hard to protect. And then the corners are going to be sticky, the linebackers all can run, safeties are very good tacklers. And that's the thing that I've noticed, is that if a ball breaks, eight yards is a really long run against this team because the safeties are such good tacklers, Grant [Delpit] and Ronnie [Hickman]."
The Browns currently have the No. 1 defense, with 256.1 yards allowed per game. They're tied for 13th in scoring defense, allowing 21.7 points per game.
New England is favored by seven points over the Browns. Another win would push the Patriots' record to 6-2. Not bad for a team that won eight games in 2023 and 2024 combined.