Devin McCourty, Wifork share their top surprises with 2025 Patriots

New England Patriots

“It brings a smile. I was at the game last Thursday, and I heard the fans. I’m like, ‘this is what we’re used to.’”

Count Devin McCourty among the sizable number of football pundits who didn’t expect the Patriots to be sitting atop the AFC East in late November.

While the three-time Super Bowl champion and current NBC broadcaster always has a soft spot for his former team, he acknowledged on Tuesday night that he thought the Patriots were capable of “10 wins” in Mike Vrabel’s first year as head coach.

With six games left on their regular-season docket, the Patriots are already 9-2 — and are tied with the Broncos for the top record in the NFL.

“I think the way they’ve approached the season, the way they’ve gotten better week after week, it’s just, and I hate comparing it — because I hate when I was a player, everyone would compare us to the early 2000s team. But it’s just reminiscent of the same kind of operation,” McCourty said Tuesday at the Sports Museum’s “The Tradition” awards program.

“All right, we’re not paying attention to the result. We’re going to keep getting better no matter who the opponent is, and I think that’s what they’ve done.” 

Fellow Patriots great Vince Wilfork, who was honored during Tuesday’s annual gala, echoed a similar sentiment as McCourty when it comes to the strides that New England has taken after posting back-to-back four-win campaigns in 2023 and 2024. 

After playing alongside Vrabel for years in Foxborough, Wilfork said it wasn’t a surprise to see a reworked Patriots locker room buy-in under their new head coach. 

“Find guys that can play here and understand what it is to be a New England Patriot,” Wilfork said of New England’s approach this past offseason. “With Mike, he understands. He get it out of the kids. Drake [Maye] is amazing in year two. I mean, watching him grow up right in front of us, it’s unbelievable. 

“With Josh McDaniels just helping him out and Stefon [Diggs] coming over with his leadership role. I know a lot of people probably question that, but you know what? Everything I’ve seen with him — he loves football, and I knew Mike was going to be [good] for him. … This is what we were built on: leadership and quality players. And I think we have that now.”

As shocking as New England’s ascension has been so far this season, McCourty said that the top surprise drawn out of what he’s seen from the Patriots hasn’t been Maye’s rise or wins over the Bills and Bucs. 

Rather, it’s who New England lost to amid its uneven start to the season. 

“The most shocking thing is that they lost to the Raiders,” McCourty joked, adding: “I think when people look it up, you go, ‘Wow, the Patriots only have two losses. What’s the two losses?  … Like, how do they lose to Vegas? 

“I remember that first game, it was like, ‘Josh [McDaniels] has too much on Drake Maye. You can see it.’ And I remember talking to one of my former teammates, and we’re texting. He was like, ‘It’s just too much.’ And I was like, ‘Dude, it’s the first game with a new offensive coordinator. Give it time.’ So, yeah, I think it’s happening a little ahead of schedule.”

The Patriots still have plenty of work to do over their final six regular-season games if they want to validate their standing as a true contender in the AFC. 

But given where the franchise was just a year ago, Wilfork — who was on site for New England’s win over the Jets on Thursday — is relieved to see Gillette Stadium rocking once again. 

“You just see a team that’s well-coached, guys that love the game and understand their role, and everybody’s stepping up to play,” Wilfork said. “That’s what we’re used to. Now it brings a smile. I was at the game last Thursday, and I heard the fans, I’m like, ‘this is what we’re used to.’ 

“This is what New England is used to. … I’m excited for the second half of the season with them. I love to see what we’re going to do. I do think we have what it takes to go far and deep. It’s still rebuilding, but we have key pieces in key places that’s going to get us where we need to be.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.