Last week
Patriots 45, Raiders 17
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. · Sun Oct 11 · Raiders 3–2, Patriots 3–2
Ladies and gentlemen, the canon resumes. Calmly. Thoroughly. In the rain.
The Raiders arrived 3–1 with the league's tidiest résumé. They had scored at least 25 in every game (AP). They led the NFL in takeaways (AP). They were tied for the fewest sacks allowed (raiders.com). Foxborough looked at all of it and filed it under "previous exhibitions."
Final: 45–17. New England scored on seven of 10 non-kneel drives (Las Vegas Sun). It gained 536 yards at 8.1 a snap (ESPN). The Raiders ran 18 times for 38 yards (ESPN). It was their worst loss since a 31–0 shutout in Philadelphia last December (Las Vegas Sun). Second straight loss. The streak of competence lasted one month. The museum does not rush. It waits.
Patriots honor roll: Drake Maye, five touchdowns and a clean jersey
26 of 34. 374 yards. Four touchdown passes. A rushing touchdown. No interceptions. A 150.9 passer rating (ESPN; AP). The Raiders sacked him once (ESPN). He threw to DeMario Douglas for 35 yards on the fifth play of the game, then again for eight in the fourth quarter (ESPN). He found Kyle Williams for 34 and 49 (ESPN). Mike Vrabel: "I felt like he was in control and gave him some time" (Patriots postgame transcript). Honorable mentions: Douglas (4–65, 2 TD), Williams (3–91, TD), Rhamondre Stevenson (13–64, TD), and Elijah Ponder (two sacks) (ESPN). New England did this without four inactive cornerbacks (patriots.com). The visiting secondary had a full roster and fewer answers.
Raiders exhibit of the week: Klint Kubiak — "It's on me to get us ready to go, and we weren't ready to go."
He said it himself (Raiders postgame transcript). He also said: "Early in the game especially I needed to stay with the run. Okay? Didn't need to abandon it so fast. So that's on me." Rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. got one carry (ESPN). The aggressive call of the day was a toss to Tre Tucker on first down at the New England 27, down seven. It lost 11 yards (ESPN). The drive ended with a missed field goal. Kubiak: "Trying to make an aggressive play, their defensive end made a great play and sniffed it out" (transcript). He went for it on fourth down twice. Zero conversions (ESPN). He tried an onside kick down 21. New England recovered (ESPN).
The nepo line: His father won a Super Bowl as a head coach. The son inherited the name, the system and a headset. Sunday he inherited a 28-point margin and owned it at the podium. Credit for the honesty. The name still did not block anybody.
Raiders who scored points, ranked by how much it mattered (it didn't)
- Brock Bowers (6 — 13-yd TD catch from Kirk Cousins, Q1): 8 catches, 110 yards, the only offense with a pulse (ESPN). Also the fourth-down conversion that he then fumbled to New England, down 28–10 (ESPN). Bowers, you are the best player on the field for a team that keeps proving it. One hand built the opening touchdown. The other gave the ball back.
- Dylan Laube (6 — 2-yd TD run, Q4): First career touchdown (raiders.com). Scored with 10:49 left, down 38–10. Four carries, nine yards (ESPN). Laube, the timing was impeccable. For the scorekeeper.
- Matt Gay (5 — 46-yd FG, 2 XP): Came in 10 for 10 on field goals (CBS Sports). Left 11 of 12. The 49-yarder hit the left upright down 14–7 (ESPN). The onside kick traveled nine yards to a Patriots tight end (ESPN). Gay, the kicking game was supposed to be the floor. It was the ceiling, with a crack.
Opposing-fan note: Road game. Not applicable this week.
Autopsy
The first Raiders snap produced a three-and-out (ESPN). Five plays later, Maye found Douglas alone for 35 and a 7–0 lead (ESPN). Eric Stokes was flagged for pass interference twice in the first quarter, for 24 and 27 yards, both on touchdown drives (ESPN). Bowers answered with a touchdown. Then the scoring stopped for five straight possessions (Las Vegas Sun). The toss to Tucker lost 11. Gay hit the upright. Maye found Hunter Henry with 24 seconds left in the half. Cousins was sacked on the next snap (ESPN).
The third quarter opened with a 34-yard touchdown to Williams after a 17-yard interference flag on Hezekiah Masses (ESPN). Bowers fumbled after converting a fourth down. Maye ran one in. Eight penalties, 101 yards (ESPN). Kubiak: "We had eight penalties today; far too many" (transcript). Cousins left at 45–17 with 6:06 remaining (LVRJ). Fernando Mendoza's first drive ended on downs at the 11 (ESPN). Kubiak's reason: "Just wanted to get him some exposure" (transcript). Exposure was the theme.