Why Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Won’t Chase Perfection Against Texans

The New England Patriots won’t have much margin for error when they host the red-hot Houston Texans in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup. Mike Vrabel still won’t pursue perfection during the playoff bout.

Asked on Friday if the Patriots must be perfect to defeat the Texans, Vrabel explained why he considers that an unrealistic goal.

“No, we want to try to be as precise as possible,” Vrabel said. “We haven’t talked one time about being perfect since I’ve been here. We’re aiming for success, and not perfection. Nobody’s gonna be perfect. We’re gonna need to be precise.”

While the Patriots may not play a perfect game, avoiding turnovers will be crucial. The Texans scored two touchdowns on takeaways in a dominant fourth quarter to eliminate the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round.

New England surrendered 16 turnovers during the regular season, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFL’s ninth-fewest. However, Drake Maye squandered scoring opportunities in a first-round win over the Los Angeles Chargers by throwing an interception and losing a fumble inside the red zone.

The Patriots may not do everything right on every play, but Vrabel knows they must mitigate those critical errors to snap Houston’s 10-game winning streak.

“We know how critical taking care of the football is in every game, especially against a team that’s plus-16 in the turnover margin,” Vrabel said. “But I’ve never once said that we have to be perfect at anything.”

Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Texans starts at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN.