5 thoughts on Patriots' rout of Raiders as offense finds its groove
· Yahoo Sports
FOXBORO — New England handed the Raiders an old-school bulldozing.
Las Vegas was rather uninterested in defense on this gloomy Sunday afternoon in Foxboro. Drake Maye totaled five touchdowns in the 45-17 Week 5 victory on Oct. 11. It was the quarterback’s best game since delivering a career-high five passing touchdowns in a Week 17 drubbing against the Jets last season.
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Maye certainly elevates New England when he’s at his best and it’s now consecutive weeks of winning football. New England returns home next week against the Jets. But first, here's more on the Patriots’ third win of the season:
Drake Maye’s confidence is rising
Robert Spillane pointed it out first. Rhamondre Stevenson and Kyle Williams echoed the same sentiment of their quarterback. Maye’s back to regular scheduled programming and he had himself a day.
Maye nearly broke his career-high for passing yards in a game (380) with 374 on 26-34 passing. It was the first time in his career that he threw three touchdown passes in back-to-back games after tossing a trio last week at Buffalo.
“At the end of the day, our job as defensive players is no matter where they put the ball, no matter the score, get off the field without letting them score,” Spillane said. “But it's just fun to see [Maye] smiling big on the sidelines. That confidence is obviously back, and just watching him lead and push the ball down the field was fun.”
Maye hit DeMario Douglas for a 35-yard touchdown to open the game. The 79-yard scoring drive was capped in just 2:33 as the offense jumped on Las Vegas from the start. New England's 45 points are the most the team has scored in a game since Jan. 2, 2021 in a 50-10 battering of Jacksonville.
"I'm going to come into every game and every week and attack it," Maye said. "I'm confident in myself for my abilities and the guys around me. And part of it, in the first touchdown to [Douglas], I'm back there, credit to the offensive line, eating a ham sandwich. I got all day back there, and I think that's things I'm working on back there. When I have time to sit in there and find somebody open."
Receiving rotation without AJ Brown and Hollins
Williams and Efton Chism III both got extended looks at receiver with injuries to AJ Brown and Mack Hollins.
Both receivers are on IR, with Hollins added Saturday because of a calf injury. Williams made the most of the opportunity with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. He immediately rebounded after an offensive pass interference penalty with a 34-yard touchdown. Williams beat Hezekiah Masses in man coverage up the left side for his fourth touchdown of his career – all of which have been 30-plus-yard receptions.
Chism was a more modest five for 57 yards with his heroics coming in the final minute against the Bills last week. He’s a more reliable option than Williams and even improvised a hook-and-ladder to TreVeyon Henderson to convert a third-and-11.
Brown is eligible to return next week at home against the Jets and will instantly improve the group. But for now, it was a heavy rotation of Douglas, Williams and Chism on Sunday.
Injuries mounting for New Engalnd
Will Campbell hurt his same right knee that hindered him in the Super Bowl last year.
Stevenson rolled up on the left tackle early in the third quarter. He headed to the medical tent before heading to the locker room and was eventually ruled out. Henderson was injured on the play before and immediately headed to the locker room. The running back was also ruled out with an ankle injury.
Stevenson carried the bulk of the run game and Caleb Lomu took over at left tackle for Campbell. But that is now six offensive starters with injuries through five weeks for New England. Campbell, Henderson, Brown, Hollins and guards Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten are all sidelined.
“We try not to panic,” Vrabel said. “We just try to get the next guy ready. We ask everybody to prepare as a starter, so credit to the football players, particularly the guys on this team, the guys that we’ve tried to bring in here. They realize that when you get an opportunity and you do something with it, then you get more opportunities.”
Pass blocking holds up
Maxx Crosby didn’t wreck the game. That’s about all any team can ask for when playing the All-Pro. New England held him to just two quarterback hits and zero sacks. Maye had time to pick apart the Raiders for 399 total yards.
The Raiders managed just a pair of half sacks from Malcolm Koonce and Jonah Laulu and didn’t record a tackle for a loss. They finished with four sacks in the Week 1 win vs. New England last year.
“Just proud of our offensive line, and I want to recognize them,” Vrabel said. “I thought that they understood what the protection was and how to keep the middle of the pocket clean. There was a lot of time for us to progress down the field, and then they ran blitz zero, and we blocked it up and was able to hit some plays down the field. That’s a testament to them for understanding what they have to be able to do, and guys stepped up. [Lomu] had to go in there, and everybody, we had all hands on deck.”
Brock Bowers stars in loss
New England couldn’t guard Brock Bowers without Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III active. It was one of just two low points for New England.
The tight end finished with 110 yards on eight catches and a touchdown. He’s a true star in this league and that’s coming off a meniscus trim that forced him to miss the first two weeks of the season. Marcus Jones couldn’t cover him in man coverage and Bowers found spaces in the zone.
“Just kind of play each play for its own entity, and at times felt like we were targeting [Bowers] pretty heavily and then just would have loved to have been able to make more plays,” Kirk Cousins said. “Whether it was [Bowers] or anybody, just try to keep us on the field.”
New England also had far too many penalties (12 for 116 yards). It’ll hurt them against better teams. The Patriots have Chicago and Green Bay in the following weeks with meetings against the Jets and Dolphins also on tap.
“There’s a lot to work on,” Vrabel said. “The penalties are ridiculous, so we’ll have to focus on that and figure out things that we can improve on, which there’ll be a lot of.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 5 thoughts on Patriots' rout of Raiders as offense finds its groove