The best and the worst: What we learned from the Patriots’ blowout victory over the Raiders
FOXBORO — The Patriots are officially back on track and should be considered one of the AFC’s top threats after heavily dominating the Raiders 45-17 at home on Sunday.
The Raiders entered Week 5 with a better record than the Patriots, but were completely overwhelmed by last year’s AFC champions.
The 3-2 Patriots are now above .500 for the first time this season after back-to-back wins over the Bills and Raiders.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had his best performance since last December, and the defense, despite two starting cornerbacks, put the clamps on Raiders signal-caller Kirk Cousins.
Despite the lopsided result, head coach Mike Vrabel was not perfectly happy with his team’s performance, specifically citing their 12 penalties for 116 yards.
“You still have to lock in to get better and clean up,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of work. The penalties are ridiculous, so we’ll have to focus on that and find things we can improve, and there will be a lot.”
The Patriots started strong with a trio on defense with key plays on the misses of backup cornerbacks Charles Woods and Kindle Vildor, who were filling in for Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III – both injured.
The offense put the Patriots up 7-0 with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Maye to a wide-open DeMario Douglas.
The Raiders quickly tied it up with 6-foot-4 tight end Brock Bowers dominating 5-foot-8 cornerback Marcus Jones with two catches for 37 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown.
The Patriots continued their momentum with a 5-yard touchdown run from Rhamondre Stevenson. Maye started the game going a near-perfect 6 of 7 for 85 yards while taking two defensive pass interference penalties.
Woods forced a punt with a pass breakup on third down, defending a target from Cousins to wide receiver Cody White.
The Patriots were forced to launch their ensuing offense. Left tackle Will Campbell and running back TreVeyon Henderson left for the locker room during the series with injuries. The Raiders were also forced to punt after outside linebacker Elijah Ponder sacked Cousin on third down.
The Raiders quickly regained possession from the Patriots. Third-string running back Corey Kiner coughed up the ball and lost a fumble on his first touch of the game, giving the Raiders the ball at the Patriots’ 38-yard line. The Patriots defense limited them to a 49-yard field goal attempt, which hit the left upright and didn’t fall.
The Patriots then put together a double score on either side of halftime. Maye led the offense on a five-play, 61-yard drive that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry. Coming out of halftime, Maye capped a four-play, 61-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. It was his third passing touchdown of the game.
After the two teams traded punts, the Raiders scored a 46-yard field goal to cut the Patriots’ lead to 28-10.
The Patriots once again increased their lead with Maye rushing for a 3-yard score after being aided by a few Raiders penalties on the nine-play, 71-yard drive.
Patriots safety Craig Woodson recovered a Bowers fumble that was forced by Kevin Byard to give the ball back to the offense. The Patriots increased their lead to 38-10 on a 28-yard field goal from Andy Borregales.
The Raiders cut the Patriots’ lead to 38-17 on a Dylan Laube touchdown run to start the fourth quarter.
Maye pushed the Patriots to 45 points with his fifth touchdown of the game, this one an 8-yarder to Douglas.
BEST
QB Drake Maye: What a performance. Maye looked like the MVP runner-up in this win, completing 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards with four touchdowns and no turnovers. He also rushed to score on four carries for 29 yards. His performance was made even more impressive by the fact that AJ Brown and Mack Hollins are both on injured reserve.
OLB Elijah Ponder: Ponder forced a punt with a third-down sack midway through the second quarter, then ended the first half with a strip sack. He now has 4.5 sacks over five weeks. UDFA 2025 is moving forward at a breakneck pace.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson was clearly the Patriots’ best running back even before Henderson got hurt. He made defenders miss on his way to 64 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries while also making three catches for 21 yards.
Honorable mentions: CB Charles Woods (two TDs), WR Efton Chism (five catches, 57 yards), CB Kindle Vildor (pass breakup), WR DeMario Douglas (four catches, 65 yards, 2 TD), TE Hunter Henry (three catches, 44 yards, TD), WR Kyle Williams (three catches, 91 yards, TD), S Kevin Byard (FF), S Craig Woodson (FR).
WORSE
RB Corey Kiner: Once Henderson left the game, Kiner replaced the backup running back. He lost a fumble on his first touch. Kiner finished strong in the timeouts and ended up with six carries for 52 yards, plus a 7-yard catch.
CB Marcus Jones: It was a disadvantageous matchup for the 5-foot-8 cornerback against 6-foot-4 tight end Brock Bowers. But Jones gave up a touchdown to the Raiders’ best offensive player.
WR Romeo Doubs: Doubs was the only pass catcher who didn’t thrive on Sunday. He’s currently struggling to make tough catches and fend off defenders through contact.
WHAT WE LEARNED
• The Patriots started in an old-school 3-4 defense with defensive linemen Milton Williams, Cory Durden and Joshua Farmer, linebackers Ponder, Dre’Mont Jones, Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss, and defensive backs Jones, Charles Woods, Woodson and Byard.
• On offense, they ran their first 12-man play with Henry and fellow forward Eli Raridon in the backfield with Stevenson in charge, along with Doubs and Efton Chism.
• Rookie tight end Tanner Arkin replaced fullback Reggie Gilliam in the backfield.
• Rookie first-round pick Caleb Lomu replaced Campbell after the second-quarter injury.
• The Patriots treated Bowers like he was a wide receiver. During games, strength and conditioning coach Brandon Martuccio holds up cards to indicate the opposing personnel’s package. The numbers on the cards indicate how many running backs and tight ends are on the field. So 11 people, for example, means one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers. When Bowers was on the field, he was not included in tight end numbers. When it came to running back Ashton Jeanty, Bowers, tight end Michael Mayer and two wide receivers, Martuccio held up a card with the number 11 on it.
• Woods left the game with a shoulder injury, leaving only Jones and Vildor at cornerback. This forced the Patriots to use four safeties on defense: Byard, Woodson, Jaylen Reed and Mike Brown.
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