Mike Vrabel assesses Patriots’ performance in joint practices with Eagles

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t seem entirely pleased with his team’s performance in Wednesday and Thursday’s joint practices with the Eagles.

The team certainly looked competitive against the Eagles, who are considered one of the top teams in the NFC heading into the 2026 season. But Vrabel wanted more out of his squad.

“Well there’s always a lot to improve upon,” Vrabel said Saturday on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “I felt like it was inconsistent, on both sides. I thought we really got started offensively on a bunch of positive notes. I think that the Eagles responded like you would expect them to in the red zone [on Thursday] and forced us to, probably at the end of the day, kick a lot of field goals unfortunately.

“We didn’t start out the way wanted to defensively the first day. But I felt like our intensity picked up in the second day, and did a nice job in the red zone and really played with much more urgency and much better demeanor that we did the day before – what we expect.

“I thought that there were just a few plays offensively that I would say would be signs of progress. And then other plays – windows get tighter down there. Being able to run the football more consistently. So again, I didn’t think that was our best performance in the red zone. But that’s why we practice.

“Defensively, I thought there were some good things. It was good to see some of the quarterback runs. It’s a good challenge for us.”

The Patriots also held one joint practice with the Colts last week ahead of their 13-13 preseason opening tie.