FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye faced a significant challenge Sunday against the Cleveland Browns‘ top-ranked defense. But before he could get to that point, he had another hurdle to clear — the first individual pre-game introductions the team has done for more than two decades.
“I was a little bit nervous for it,” Maye said with a smile after the Patriots’ 32-13 win. “You always see other teams do it. I got literally no swag, so I just go out there and run.”
10 TIME ⏰@DrakeMaye2 | @NFL pic.twitter.com/4iZxrAo6YP
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 26, 2025
The change-up was newsworthy because of the Patriots’ championship history.
Prior to the team’s 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, players elected to forgo individual introductions in place of being called on to the field as a team — something that defined the franchise’s team-first approach ever since.
Mike Vrabel played linebacker on that team, and now in his first season as Patriots coach, he explained why the decision was made to re-introduce individual introductions.
“Just feel like these guys put a lot into it and would like to recognize them individually. Hopefully our fans can embrace that and get excited for them,” he said. “It’s something that I felt like we wanted to do, create some energy early and get them to recognize the players’ efforts, and allow these fans to support us, which they did. It was getting loud on third down. We’ve got to continue to play hard for them so that they cheer for us.”
Players joked that they were rusty, as the order in which players were introduced and how they came onto the field wasn’t necessarily in sync.
“I think the first 10 guys, they had the wrong name and ran out too fast. We’ll work on it,” Maye said with a touch of humor. “I think the guys enjoyed it. It was cool kind of hanging back there in the back being the last one.”
“I think we need a lot of improvement. It was a little disorganized,” veteran tight end Hunter Henry said smiling. “We’re just trying to bring some energy to the stadium.”
Gillette Stadium was once the hardest place to play in the NFL, but in recent years, the Patriots have struggled to win at home. They are 5-16 at home since the start of the 2023 season but have now won their last two games at Gillette. Entering Week 8, the Patriots ranked 30th in the NFL in points allowed on the first two defensive possessions of games, something they emphasized in practice last week.
In that spirit, the hope is that individual pre-game introductions provide a spark — even if some players winged it.
“First time doing it, I didn’t know what to do,” receiver Kayshon Boutte joked. “I just kept on running.”
