Patriots’ Mike Vrabel sounded off on Rhamondre Stevenson after a mistake he labeled “inexcusable.” DH
slowly watching an early 21-0 lead get away from them. In the loss, one particular penalty stuck out to head coach Mike Vrabel, and he made mention of it in a postgame press appearance.
The penalty in question came on the heels of an altercation with Bills linebacker Matt Milano in the third quarter. Rhamondre Stevenson went out of bounds after gaining 16 yards on a pass play, and when Milano and Stevenson got into it, Stevenson’s retaliation landed him an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Stevenson shoved Milano in the helmet during the altercation. The lack of discipline from Stevenson cost the Patriots 15 yards, and Vrabel was clear on his disappointment following the game.
“That’s a bad decision. That’s what I told them in the moment,” Vrabel said, via Mass Live. “That’s what I’ll tell them again at 12:30 (today). There’s nothing else. It’s what it is.”
“He made a good play, good positive play. I don’t think they did anything wrong. (Milano) hit them at the sideline, stood there and we made a bad decision.”
Stevenson Took Accountability
Stevenson weighed in on the penalty as well, and took accountability for his mistake.
“That was a dumb decision by me ultimately,” Stevenson said. “I can’t get any personal fouls. I was lucky it off-set. That could have been a big part of the game. I just gotta be disciplined and not do things like that.”
Fans on social media felt that it was harsh to penalize Milano at all for the altercation, with one writing, “Somehow, Matt Milano got flagged for this encounter…” and another positing that the “Most violent thing Milano did in this clip was turn his head to the ref.”
“So Milano gets punched in helmet but he somehow gets a penalty for getting hit lol what a joke,” another lamented.
A Patriots fan defended Stevenson, who didn’t even defend his own behavior, saying that ‘Mondre doesn’t do anything and gets flagged. Refs not even hiding their blatant carry job of the bills.” When someone pointed out the shove/punch to him, the same fan responded, “No he didn’t 😭.”
In the video, of course, he did.
The Bills showdown marked the Pats’ third loss of the season, and showed that while they are having a miraculous year so far, they are still a young team with a lot to prove.
They will prepare to face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, likely with a bit more hunger.
