Patriots owner Robert Kraft also deserves serious credit for pursuing Vrabel and ending the Jerod Mayo era after a single season. It would have been easy for Kraft to stubbornly stick with Mayo and hope that if the Patriots brought McDaniels back, they’d manage to make the playoffs for only the second time in six seasons.

It was New England's third consecutive victory, something the Patriots (4-2) haven't achieved since 2022. It also improved their road mark to 3-0, which Vrabel said his young team should celebrate.

Sunday marked the first time Mike Vrabel returned to Nissan Stadium since he was fired by the Titans after the 2023 season. And many wanted to know what this homecoming meant to the Patriots' head coach.

Mike Vrabel won a lot of games in Tennessee while he was coaching the Titans, but Sunday's visit as the head coach of the Patriots ended with a new twist.