The New England Patriots and coach Mike Vrabel improved to 11-2 with their 33-15 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night, and they have a clear path to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It represents a remarkable turnaround for a team coming off back-to-back 4-13 seasons.

The headline of the Patriots’ 2025 campaign has been second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who leads the NFL in completion percentage (71.5%), passing yards (3,412) and passer rating (111.9). He is the fifth second-year quarterback to win 10 straight starts, and the previous four all won NFL MVP and/or a Super Bowl during their careers. That list includes John Elway, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Lamar Jackson. Maye is favored to win NFL MVP at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Maye is not the only reason the Patriots are in the midst of a magical campaign. Credit also needs to be given to Mike Vrabel. Sure, there was general optimism when Robert Kraft hired the legendary Patriots linebacker to take over as lead man, but who saw an 11-win season right off the bat?

For that reason, Vrabel is now a relatively heavy favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year.

NFL Coach of the Year Odds (FanDuel Sportsbook)

Vrabel won NFL Coach of the Year once before, in 2021 with the Tennessee Titans. That year, the Titans earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record despite dealing with a tremendous amount of injuries, including to star running back Derrick Henry. By the end of the season, the Titans broke an NFL record by playing 91 different players.

Vrabel earned the reputation of getting the most out of his players, and that carried over to New England. The Patriots added plenty of new faces this offseason, and those new faces have made immediate impacts. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson leads the team in rushing, free-agent signing Stefon Diggs leads the team in receiving, free-agent signing Robert Spillane leads the team in tackles while free-agent signing Harold Landry leads the team in sacks. Whether they are a Patriot that played under Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo like cornerback Christian Gonzalez, or a recent signing like cornerback Carlton Davis, these guys like playing for Vrabel.

“He came off being a cool guy, personable, players coach,” Davis said of Vrabel, per ESPN. “Everybody kind of bought into it, and we kind of created this quick brotherhood and this bond between each other, where we want to play for each other. But we also want to play for him.”

Patriots as legitimate contenders

While the Patriots have the best record in the NFL, it’s still fair to wonder if they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. According to CBS Sports Research, the Patriots have played the easiest strength of schedule this season.

What was the Patriots’ key victory? New England upset the Bills in Buffalo in Week 5. But this Bills team hasn’t looked like a legitimate contender, dropping games to the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. The Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers early in the year, then played close matchups with the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals and Falcons. Monday’s win over the Giants felt like New England’s first dominant victory since Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns.

The Patriots can’t do anything about their seemingly easy schedule. All you can do is play who is in front of you. As it stands now, the Philadelphia Eagles (+900), Green Bay Packers (+900), Seahawks (+850) and Los Angeles Rams (+460) have better odds than the Patriots to win the Super Bowl this year.

The Patriots have a couple of important matchups ahead of them with the Bills in Week 15 and the Baltimore Ravens the week after that. Whether they are truly the best team in the AFC or not, earning that coveted first-round bye could help in their Super Bowl pursuit.