Big Picture: Another Dynasty in New England? Patriots Built for Sustained Success

Comparisons are the language of sports.

During draft season, there’s one quarterback who is "the next Patrick Mahomes."

During training camp, there’s one offense that is "a copycat version of the Rams."

During the postseason, there’s one team that’s "the next dynasty, like the Chiefs — like the Patriots."

Analogies actually work best when the two things being compared are not alike. When they’re surprising. Maybe this analogy won't be surprising. Maybe the "next dynasty" is … the New England Patriots. 

At first glance, this Patriots season looks like the beginning of their previous dynasty.

There’s the brilliant defensive-minded head coach in Mike Vrabel — not a far cry from Bill Belichick. And despite his gruff persona, Vrabel’s defense (with its immense nuance and complexity) shows the football IQ that his friends rave about. 

There’s the brilliant young quarterback Drake Maye — facilitating offensive efficiency in some of the ways Tom Brady did. And despite Maye’s aw-shucks-just-happy-to-be-here presentation, he has a better killshot than any other QB in the NFL right now. 

The problem with that comparison is, well … everything.

I recently spent some time speaking with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Brady’s former backups, Brian Hoyer and Matt Cassel, about how Maye is nothing like Brady. Not as a passer. Not as a player. And, from what I’ve observed from covering both Brady and Maye, they’re just different.

The same is especially true of Vrabel and Belichick, whose dispositions could not be more different. Vrabel and Belichick might be critical and sarcastic. But you didn’t see Belichick waiting at the door to the locker room to hug every one of his players after a game. You never heard stories of Belichick getting his players to stand up in front of the team to tell their life stories. Sure, Belichick had an open-door policy, but he connected with players in a totally different way than Vrabel does.

The Patriots could be on the verge of a dynasty, and it's all about Maye and Vrabel. And I get it, we're getting the cart before the horse, because these Patriots haven't even clinched a Super Bowl berth. But that's a testament to their play. It’s also a testament to the skepticism surrounding the Denver Broncos and their backup (and now starting) quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who is stepping in for injured starter Bo Nix. 

RELATED: Can the Broncos Actually Beat the Patriots Without Bo Nix?

But even if New England can’t make the Super Bowl, it has the pieces in place — much like the 2001 team once did.

Mike Vrabel played under Bill Belichick (right) for eight seasons, but he has a different leadership style than his former head coach. (Photo by Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Anyone born in New England in the past 25 to 30 years is, in essence, a summer child. Boston might feature genuine winter, but Boston sports fans never really see one. One of the big four — the Patriots, the Celtics, the Bruins, the Red Sox — is always winning. Most significantly, Patriots fans don’t really know what it’s like to struggle meaningfully. Their rebuild was about as clean as it gets, nothing like the prolonged process fans of the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars have endured. Nothing like the purgatory in Cleveland with the Browns. 

It feels almost inevitable for New England to start winning again. Maybe even dominating again.

But here’s the counterargument. The Bills and Los Angeles Chargers provide a good example. Both teams were basement-level organizations until a new coach brought them back into relevance, with help largely from their quarterbacks: Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. 

In the case of Herbert, we haven't seen him recapture the individual success from his breakout 2021 season. Former Chargers coach Brandon Staley then floundered and flopped — eventually getting the axe in 2023. In the case of Allen, he and the Bills have struggled with the difficulties of (not) making the Super Bowl — so much so that Buffalo just fired Sean McDermott, a defensive-minded head coach with a 98-50 regular-season record and an 8-8 postseason record.

At the end of the 2020 season, it appeared Sean McDermott and Josh Allen had the Bills set up for the long haul. Five years later, they've still yet to make a Super Bowl with Allen, and now they're looking for a new head coach. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

There are pitfalls that Brady and Belichick inexplicably avoided. Regression. Stagnancy. Complacency. Competitive parity. And a million other things.

To New England’s credit (and to its great luck), this 2025 Patriots team has so far avoided them. A lot of pieces have fallen into place — to perfection.

It helped to have one of the easiest schedules in the league this season. The weak strength-of-schedule might be overblown, but it’s still relevant. It helped to have the Tennessee Titans fire Vrabel in 2024, making him available for the Patriots. It helped that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was available to return to New England this season. 

It helped to have the No. 3 overall pick in a historically good quarterback draft class. And above all, it really helped that the third-best prospect in that draft class has (so far) turned out to be the No. 1 pro quarterback in that draft class — and perhaps even the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL right now. 

It also helps that the Patriots are a very good football team that just seems to get better, particularly on defense, where they appear to be as smart and aggressive as the often-vaunted Seattle Seahawks unit, which is headed for the NFC Championship Game.

And if Maye were playing as well in the postseason as he did in the regular season? New England would be the Super Bowl favorite.

The Patriots are likely headed to the Super Bowl, where few will give them a chance to beat the NFC’s best. But there’s something about this Patriots team — with their quiet competency — that makes them a threat to win it all. And if the Patriots can preserve that identity, centered around Vrabel and Maye, then they won’t just win it all. 

They’ll be back for more.

In the Big Picture, we contextualize key moves and moments so you can instantly understand why they matter.