Mike Vrabel's arrival rapidly improved the Patriots, shifting perceptions so New England enters the 2025 opener favored over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Week 1 narrative centers on Josh McDaniels potentially facing the team that fired him on Halloween 2023 and returning against a franchise he influenced for two decades. The matchup also pits two rebuilding teams, with the Raiders hiring Pete Carroll and working with minority owner Tom Brady to upgrade their roster. National exposure remains limited: CBS assigned Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta to the booth with Aditi Kinkhabwala reporting, and the game is expected to receive minimal nationwide coverage.
We are just a few days away from the Patriots' 2025 season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium, the first game in the past year that New England is actually favored to win. That wasn't the case at all last year, showing just how much of an impact Mike Vrabel has had on the franchise in the short amount of time he has been the head coach.
Among the biggest storylines heading into the game will revolve around Josh McDaniels' potential revenge against the team that infamously fired him on Halloween in 2023 when he was trick-or-treating with his kids. This will be the first time he faces off against them, and what better way to do that than with the team that he contributed so much to over the l last two decades.
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