For once, Mike Vrabel spared us the riddles and banal platitudes. Time and again over the past few months, the New England Patriots coach has dodged awkward questions – about his alleged affair with Dianna Russini, about what he learned from counseling, even about a possible reunion with Tom Brady last week. It has been a clinic in verbal gymnastics.

On Sunday night, however, Vrabel decided it was time to shoot straight. 'We got our a**es kicked,' he said in the aftermath of New England's humiliation at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. 'There's no two ways around it.' Not this time.

Not after his team was beaten 45-27 at home. Not after a day when records tumbled and so did the Patriots' stock. Not since 1970 had they conceded 45 points at home; not for nearly a century had two Green Bay players done what Christian Watson and Matthew Golden managed in New England – at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in the same game.

The numbers make for grim reading. But the symbolism was even more bleak. Because this humiliation unfolded on the same weekend that New England came together to honor heroes of yesteryear. Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Tom Brady called his first game at his old home. Even Bill Belichick snuck back to Foxborough.

On Saturday night, they reportedly gathered at Davio's Steakhouse to toast the 10-year anniversary of Super Bowl LI, when Brady and Belichick orchestrated one of the finest comebacks in NFL history and cemented the Patriots as one of sports' greatest dynasties.

On Sunday afternoon, the modern Patriots decided to pay their own tribute to the boys of 2016. What better way to make fans feel nostalgic, to make them realize how good they had it, than to put in a performance like this? After Belichick's players were honored before kickoff, New England opened with a penalty and then an interception. Boos rang out inside the first quarter.

It was a sobering, brutal reminder that last year's run to the Super Bowl may have been an aberration rather than a sign of things to come. As it stands, according to NFL analytics, the Patriots have just a 57 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Brady received a hero's welcome and then watched on as Maye threw three first-half picks, suggesting the quarterback might not be over his early-season struggles, after all.

Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and other Hall of Famers, meanwhile, were paraded on the field at halftime to celebrate the induction of their newest member. Ghosts dressed in red jackets.

Vrabel made it into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023 after he won three Super Bowls alongside Brady and Co. On Sunday, however, he spent halftime picking through the debris of a dismal opening two quarters. Neither the head coach, nor his staff or players could find a way to stop the bleeding.

Rhamondre Stevenson suffered an injury, just days after fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson revealed he suffered a scary medical emergency. Christian Gonzalez, the NFL's highest-paid cornerback, had a nightmare evening. Maye threw an interception with his first pass of the night. His receiving corps is a mess, too.

'When your best players don't play good, you don't have much of a chance in this league,' Vrabel said, in response to a question about Gonzalez. 'We expect a lot more, he expects a lot more. We need more from him and everybody else.'

A weary-sounding Vrabel listed some of the areas the Patriots need to improve: tackling, creating turnovers, disrupting the opposition quarterback, offensive balance.

Apart from that, a good day at the office. It didn't help, either, that New England's preseason was disrupted by questions about his marriage and the exact nature of his relationship with Dianna Russini. 

Still, at least Brady enjoyed himself up in the booth on Sunday. During the Fox broadcast, the 49-year-old went on his own monologue: 'I just can't thank everyone enough for the love, the support over 20 years here,' he said.

'I feel like I'm the luckiest man alive to play for this unbelievable community... I had the most amazing teammates and coaches every step of the way... that's why they hang those [championship] banners... they're going to hang there forever.'

His words jarred with what was unfolding below – as Brady spoke about nostalgia, this Patriots' performance made fans yearn for better days, too. There was one member of that old dynasty who was missing on Sunday – billionaire owner Robert Kraft, who is recovering from back surgery.

'I know he's watching and the game is not quite the way he'd want it,' Brady said. 'I know if he was sitting up in that booth, he'd have a few little complaints.' 

It was a polite way of putting it. The sort of careful wording Vrabel has become rather good at. Now it's time to see if he can master the day job, too.