The new head coach of the New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel, will face a wide array of significant challenges as he tries to restore the once-dominant franchise to contender status in the AFC following back-to-back 4-13 seasons.
In fact, the challenges are too many to sum up in a short space. There is not an area of the roster that does not need an overhaul. Talent levels on both offense and defense are thin. Game management by now-fired head coach Jerod Mayo and his staff was often awkward and directionless.
Overall, the culture of the Patriots both on the field and in the locker room appeared to represent a complete reversal from the disciplined, accountability-driven “Patriot Way” under legendary, six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick (though Belichick himself never used the term “Patriot Way” to describe his approach).
One Challenge Vrabel Will Be Able to Avoid
Those are some of the more important challenges Vrabel must address and overcome, though definitely not all of them. But there is at least one challenge that Vrabel and the 2025 Patriots will in all probability avoid being forced to deal with, thanks to a major announcement by the NFL on Wednesday â international travel.
At least, the Patriots will not be required to play a game in Berlin, Germany, in the upcoming season. There remains a slight possibility that they could end up playing in one of the NFL’s other overseas destinations. The NFL announced that the home team for the NFL’s first-ever game in Berlin will be the Indianapolis Colts. But the Colts are not one of the Patriots opponents on the 2025 schedule, so Vrabel will not need to worry about packing his team off to Germany at any point in the upcoming season.
A German game has been on the NFL schedule since 2022, but never in the German capital, and largest city, Berlin. In 2023 the Patriots played a game in Frankfurt, Germany, against the Colts. They suffered a lackluster 10-6 defeat.
Patriots Unlikely to Play Any Games Overseas in 2025
What about the NFL’s other international games in 2025? The NFL has announced host teams for four other overseas games. In odd-numbered years, AFC teams host all international games. The Miami Dolphins have been revealed as the home team for the NFL’s inaugural Spanish game, which will be played at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, home to the 36-time Spain La Liga soccer champions Real Madrid.
The NFL rarely schedules division rivals to face off overseas, and has not done so since 2019. If the league stays true to that practice, that eliminates the Patriots from traveling to Spain â and from one of the three London games set for 2025, to be hosted by the New York Jets. Another London game will be hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars who, like the Colts, are not one of the Patriots scheduled opponents for the 2025 season.
The third London game will have the Cleveland Browns as its designated home team. The Browns are, in fact, on the Patriots schedule but as a road team. That means New England will not take part in that game either.
The NFL has also said that it plans to play games in Mexico and Brazil this season, but no teams have been announced for those games. But playing in North or South America requires no extreme time-zone shifts, as playing in Europe with its eight and nine-hour time differences does.
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