"While we can chart some positive moments for the New England Patriots in Sunday's regular-season opener, there were far more negatives than positives in their 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots got torched by 34-year-old quarterback Geno Smith for 362 passing yards and were out-classed at home by an opponent firmly in their wheelhouse. Overall, the performance left plenty to second-guess, from in-game decisions to others made weeks ago on roster cut-down day."
"The Patriots committed nine penalties, couldn't run the ball on offense, and couldn't stop the pass on defense in some critical moments. Trailing by 10 points, Vrabel's decision to punt on 4th-and-10 from his own 44 yard line with 4:53 remaining was way too conservative and effectively ended the game. Most troubling was the third quarter, as New England was out-coached coming out of the locker room and surrendered 10 unanswered points to swing the game."
The Patriots fell 20-13 at Gillette Stadium after giving up 362 passing yards to Geno Smith and committing nine penalties. New England struggled to run the ball and surrendered momentum in the third quarter when the team allowed 10 unanswered points coming out of the locker room. Mike Vrabel's conservative late-game punt decision on 4th-and-10 effectively ended comeback chances. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye showed accuracy issues, threw an interception on the opening third-quarter drive, and lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, while rushing production remained minimal at four carries for 11 yards.
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