Trailing 10-7, the Patriots faced a 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line with two seconds left before halftime.
After three failed attempts from in close, Drake Maye hit Stefon Diggs, who lept up and over his defender to pull in the pass, then got both feet in bounds for the touchdown.
The Patriots could have kicked the field goal to tie the score. That would have been the safe play. But Vrabel rolled the dice en route to beating Tampa Bay, 28-23, on Sunday.
“That was a huge play for us on fourth down. We got confidence in our guys … to have confidence in them at that moment and then come through, that’s about players and not necessarily plays,” Vrabel said of the score that put the Patriots up 14-10 at the half. “I was really proud of Steph and Drake for scoring and being able to end the half with the football in our hands.”
Diggs appreciated Vrabel trusting his players to make a play. He says players want to reward Vrabel for that trust.
“He was a player once. He wants to be aggressive. He wants to instill confidence in his guys and let us know he trusts us out there,” Diggs said. “It’s our job late in the downs when your coach wants to roll the dice and has some faith in you, to make plays.
“It gives your quarterback confidence, it gives your coach confidence and it has us going in the right direction as a team.”
Vrabel deflected any praise.
“I made a decision to go for it, I trust our players and they came through,” he said. “They made me look good.”
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