Patriots coach Mike Vrabel kept it real while explaining his reasoning for benching star defensive tackle Christian Barmore for the entire first quarter of New England’s 32-13 home victory over Cleveland on Sunday.

“I just had to make a decision. My job’s to protect the team,” Vrabel said during his postgame press conference when asked about Barmore’s benching. “So when there are actions that I don’t feel like are commensurate with what we want to do here, I gotta make a decision. And we move on.”

Vrabel did not explain further. 4

Barmore, who declined to speak after the game in New England’s locker room, finished with one tackle and a team-high four quarterback pressures while playing 30 snaps in the win.

Barmore — signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension with New E

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