The New England Patriots turned a wobbly start into a two-game winning streak on Sunday, beating the Raiders by four touchdowns to move to 3-2 with a patchwork roster on both sides of the ball.
The Patriots won without their top receivers, A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins, and without four cornerbacks, including the starters Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. They also had no Reggie Gilliam, their starting fullback, and no No. 2 running back, and they lost running back TreVeyon Henderson and left tackle Will Campbell to ankle and knee injuries in the second quarter. Tight ends played fullback. Backup receivers filled in at the X, Y and Z positions, with Vrabel crediting the receivers coach, Todd Downing, for the shuffling.
“We had all hands on deck,” Vrabel said. “We ask everybody to prepare as a starter, so credit to the football players. That’s not easy, you know, to learn three different positions and being able to step in there and block and make plays.”
The offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, may have called one of the best regular-season games of his career, The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin wrote, against his former team, perhaps not coincidentally. The Patriots scored six touchdowns, went 4 for 5 in the red zone and gained 536 yards, their most in a game since October 2021. Maye joked that he had time to eat “a ham sandwich” on his first touchdown pass. Maxx Crosby, the Raiders’ best pass rusher, finished with one tackle and two quarterback hits. There was even a designed hook-and-lateral, from Efton Chism to Henderson, that gained 16 yards on third-and-11, a coaching source told the Globe.
Five receivers had at least 40 yards, including the backup Williams, who went for 91 and a touchdown, and Raridon and Chism, with five catches and 57 yards apiece. “Big word of this week was ‘opportunity,’” said Douglas, who had 65 yards and two touchdowns and was wide open on both scores.
The game also capped a turnaround for Maye, who was a mess the first three weeks, the Globe wrote, throwing costly interceptions in losses to the Seahawks and Jaguars while struggling without Brown. There had been real questions about whether he was still carrying last February’s Super Bowl loss, or whether his runner-up MVP season had been a fluke. He threw three touchdowns in a fourth-quarter comeback at Buffalo last week and was flawless on Sunday.
“He was clicking on all cylinders, making us look good, and we were executing,” Maye said of McDaniels. “It was beautiful to be a part of today.”
The defense matched the offense. Under Zak Kuhr, the Patriots held a Raiders team that had scored at least 26 points in every game to 17 points and 306 yards, sending heavy blitzes after Cousins on third down while the backup cornerbacks Charles Woods and Kindle Vildor covered alone. “When we blitz, those corners are out there solo-dolo a lot of the time, and they really stood up,” linebacker Robert Spillane said.
Vrabel deflected credit back toward his staff and players. “I think our coaches are great, and they understand the game plan, and they try to get their players ready,” he said. “They have high expectations of themselves as coaches, and I’m lucky to be able to have them.”
His quarterback thought the win could have been bigger. “I mean, it’s crazy to say we still got some left to squeeze,” Maye said. “That’s a Coach Vrabel football team stepping up, being ready to take advantage of your opportunity.”