10 Key Takeaways from the New England Patriots’ Blowout Win Over the Las Vegas Raiders

The New England Patriots (3-2) have hit their stride.

One week after a thrilling comeback victory over the Buffalo Bills, New England returned home and welcomed the Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) to Gillette Stadium — but that welcome wasn’t very warm for the visitors. The Patriots’ red-hot offense took control of the game early and never relinquished in a wire-to-wire dominant effort, showcasing their most complete and complementary brand of football to date. New England swaggered boisterously on both sides of the football, conquering and winning in an emphatic 45-17 rout over Las Vegas.

Here are 10 key takeaways from the Patriots’ blowout victory over the Raiders:

Drake Maye was the catalyst of a New England offense that looked nearly unstoppable against Las Vegas.

His return to form began in Week 4, but Maye's Week 5 performance was arguably the greatest of his young career. Statistically, analytically, or otherwise, Maye was dominant against a Raiders’ defense that led the NFL in takeaways (nine entering the game) and specialized in many of his weak points. If the Las Vegas game was a test of Maye’s growth, he passed with flying colors — harkening back to his 2025 excellence with his most complete 60-minute outing of the 2026 regular season.

Maye’s pocket presence, patience, and decision-making were all strengths on Sunday, and they never faltered. No matter how the splits are broken up, he was spectacular. In the first quarter, Maye completed 6-of-7 passing attempts with 85 yards, one touchdown, a passer rating of 156.8, and an EPA/play of +1.51 (per SūmerSports). By halftime, he was 11-of-15 through the air with 160 yards, two touchdowns, a passer rating of 147.2, and an EPA/play of +0.86. By the game’s conclusion, he completed 26-of-34 passes (76.4% completion percentage) with 374 passing yards (11.0 yards per attempt), four touchdowns, a passer rating of 150.9, and an EPA/play of +0.80 — the highest of any NFL quarterback in a single game this season.

It was Maye’s second-career game with 300-plus yards passing and fell just six yards short of setting a career-best mark (380 yards in the Patriots’ 28-24 comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens on December 21, 2025). It was the first time in his career that he had consecutive games with three passing touchdowns, and the first time since Tom Brady in 2018 that a quarterback did so for the franchise. Maye’s 150.9 passer rating was the third-highest mark of his career, trailing his 157.0 rating against the New York Jets in Week 17 of 2025 and a 155.6 rating against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 of 2025.  

He also added seven carries, 25 yards, and one touchdown rushing — his five total touchdowns tied a career-high (threw for five touchdowns in New England’s 42-10 win over the New York on December 28, 2025).

Regardless of coverage, pressure, or game situation, Maye was equally efficient — and deadly. Without two of his top targets on the outside, he spread the wealth to a variety of different receiving options and continued to press on the gas pedal as the game got out of hand late.

His showing in this victory wasn’t just a statement against the Raiders, it was a message to the rest of the league. The Patriots are back, and so is Maye.

Each of New England’s perimeter targets had their chances to get in on the action as Maye dealt the ball around with precision all day long.

After an underwhelming two-catch, 15-yard performance against Buffalo, DeMario Douglas became the focal point of the Patriots’ passing attack early, and put the exclamation point on the lopsided victory late. He opened the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown on New England’s first drive, winning on a deep post route against Cover 4 when safety Jeremy Chinn sat on Kyle Williams’ dig route underneath and the rest of the Las Vegas deep defenders completely lost him.

On the Patriots’ second possession, Douglas converted on 4th-and-3 route to push the ball past midfield and extend an eventual touchdown drive. He also closed the scoring for New England in the fourth quarter, winning on a corner route just past the front pylon against Cover 1 from eight yards out to cap-off an incredible showing from the Patriots’ passing offense. He finished the day with four receptions on five targets, 65 yards, and two touchdowns — but even he didn’t finish as the team-leader in catches or yards. 

Second-year wide receiver Kyle Williams finally showed signs of a developing connection with Maye in a more expansive role — albeit in one quarter of production. After being shut out in the first half, Williams kicked off the second half scoring for the Patriots with a 34-yard touchdown reception on a go-ball down the left sideline over Hezekiah Masses. Williams won deep again on the last play of the period, beating Darien Porter on a post route on 3rd-and-2 for a gain of 49 yards. Williams caught each of his three targets in the third quarter, and racked up 91 yards and a trip to the end zone in the process. 

It may not have been the most consistent game from Williams in terms of production, but he surpassed his previous season totals (two catches, 44 yards) in just 15 minutes, and was efficient with the looks he got from Maye. His 91 yards receiving set a career-best mark — a massive step in the right direction for a player who possesses obvious talent.

Also ascending into a more prominent role in the offense was Efton Chism III. And like many of the other New England pass-catchers on Sunday, he delivered. Chism was a constant and reliable option for Maye throughout the game and tied for the team-lead with five catches on six targets. He added 57 yards receiving, and made the highlight reel with a trick play throw-back to TreVeyon Henderson to convert a 3rd-and-11 on the Patriots’ third drive.

Romeo Doubs was the lone player to disappoint out of New England’s four active wide receivers on Sunday. He recorded just one reception on three targets, gained 16 yards, and dropped two passes: one on a vertical route down the right sideline (called defensive pass interference) and another later on an end zone shot by Maye. His performance was overshadowed by the others in the room and a breakout day for the Patriots’ tight ends.

A known weakness for the Raiders (24 receptions on 30 targets, 184 yards, five touchdowns allowed) entering game day, New England’s duo of Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon each made a lasting impact on the win. 

Henry the recipient of a fourth-down conversion on the Patriots’ second drive, winning on a trail route behind two crossers to give Maye an easy throwing window inside the one-yard line before Rhamondre Stevenson punched it in for six. He’d later find paydirt himself to extend the lead to 21-7 just before halftime, and finished the game with three catches, 44 yards, and the score.

Outpacing Henry as a target out-wide was rookie tight end Eli Raridon, who was more involved in the offense than ever before and presented a dependable option for Maye underneath and deep downfield. Raridon set career-highs in receptions (five) and receiving yards (57), and caught every target that was tossed his way — whether it was a third quarter shovel pass from Maye or a Cover 2 hole shot down the sideline. 

His largest gain — a 31-yard connection from Maye against Cover 2 — came on a play where he motioned from right to left and caught a wheel route in-stride. It was one of Maye’s better throws of the day, and continues a trend for Raridon as a deep threat.

Raridon previously hooked up with Maye for a 30-yard gain against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, and finished his final season with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hauling in all eight of his 20-plus yard targets. Now, those skills are beginning to translate over to the professional level — and will be emphasized by an aggressive downfield passer in Maye. Sunday was a huge step forward for Raridon as he starts to become more of a focal point in the offense.

With a thinning receiving corps on the outside, New England turned to 11 personnel on 36.4% of offensive plays on Sunday — easily setting a season-high. Henry and Raridon both excelled against Las Vegas, and will look to continue that moving forward.

The Patriots may not be so top-heavy at tight end after all.

New England kicked off Week 5 severely shorthanded at several positions, and those issues persisted against the Raiders.

At cornerback, the Patriots ruled out Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), Carlton Davis III (neck), Karon Prunty (hamstring), and Channing Canada (hamstring) prior to game day, and placed fullback Reggie Gilliam (ankle/knee) and Mack Hollins (calf) on injured reserve on Saturday.

On New England’s third offensive possession of the game, they lost two more starters.

In the span of three plays, running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) and left tackle Will Campbell (knee) exited the contest and did not return. Cornerback Charles Woods was questionable with a shoulder injury entering Sunday, and left the game after registering a tackle for loss on a screen pass to Bowers in the third quarter. Defensive tackle Cory Durden also left late in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.

The Patriots had already surpassed their season total from 2025 (16) with 19 players on injured reserve entering Week 5. Hopefully, none of the injuries sustained on Sunday will increase that running total further. 

An aerial onslaught from the New England offense was made possible by a much-improved showing from the Patriots’ offensive line against an uber-talented Las Vegas front-four.

Through the first four games of the regular season, New England surrendered pressures on 48.6% of Maye’s dropbacks (31st), allowed a sack on 6.8% of those plays (20th), while being blitzed on just 29.1% of passing plays (18th, per SūmerSports). Against the Raiders, that pressure rate dropped to just 26.3%, and Maye’s pressure-to-sack rate landed under 10% for the second straight week (5.6% in Week 4, 6.7% in Week 5). When under pressure, Maye completed 5-of-9 passing attempts with 57 yards, one touchdown, four first downs, and a passer rating of 111.8 (per PFF). 

Maye was allotted an average time-to-throw of 3.2 seconds on Sunday afternoon (as opposed to the NFL average of 2.7 seconds), and made great use of it. He pushed the ball downfield with conviction and accuracy, registering an Average Depth of Target (ADoT) of 10.7 yards, an average yards per attempt of 11.0, a big-time-throw rate of 12.2%, and recorded zero turnover-worthy plays.

When kept clean, Maye was surgical. On 28 dropbacks, he completed 21-of-25 passes with 317 yards (12.7 yards per attempt), three touchdowns, four big-time throws, three scrambles, 13 first downs, an EPA/play of +1.22, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

The Raiders specialized with a four-man rush through the first four games of the regular season, and showed why against the Patriots. When blitzed, Maye was 6-of-8 passing with 121 yards (15.1 yards per attempt), two big-time throws, six first downs, an EPA/play of +0.24, and a passer rating of 116.7. Entering Sunday’s contest, Las Vegas had run 14 snaps of Cover 0 and allowed four touchdowns. Against New England, they ran one snap of Cover 0 — and it resulted in Williams’ 49-yard bomb to end the third quarter.

A relatively clean game for the Patriots’ offensive line was especially notable for first-round rookie Caleb Lomu, who substituted into the game for the injured Will Campbell and ended with 49 snaps at left tackle. On 20 run blocking snaps, New England ran behind Lomu seven times and gained 35 yards (5.0 yards per carry). On 29 pass blocking snaps, Lomu allowed just one pressure, no hits, no sacks, and recorded a pass-blocking efficiency grade of 98.0 (per PFF). His 80.2 pass blocking grade ranked second on the team behind left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, who registered an elite 89.8 grade with zeros across the board on 75 blocking snaps (38 in pass protection).

The offensive line’s improved performance at the point of attack enabled Maye to pick apart the Raiders’ defense deep, and it also allowed for the Patriots to begin gaining more stable footing on the ground.

New England looked to alter their usual gap-scheme rushing attack in favor of more zone concepts on Sunday afternoon, and did so with greater results.

Running inside zone on 25.8% of their designed run calls, Rhamondre Stevenson set a season-best mark with 4.9 yards per carry and totaled 13 rushes, 64 yards, and one touchdown. His first quarter score also featured a nice wrinkle from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — Henderson aligned at wide receiver on the play, motioned down on a jet sweep look pre-snap and became the lead blocker through the B-gap that sprung Stevenson into the end zone.

The offense returned to that jet sweep motion on the next drive and gained 11 yards and a first down on the handoff to Henderson. But, he injured his ankle on the sideline tackle and didn’t return. Prior to his exit, Henderson accrued 22 yards on four rushes (5.5 yards per carry) and added 16 yards on his lone reception.

Corey Kiner saw some action in relief of Henderson, but that was short-lived after a fumble in the second quarter gave the Raiders the ball at the New England 38-yard-line with 4:27 remaining in the half. That drive wouldn’t produce any points, as Las Vegas kicker Matt Gay doinked his 49-yard field goal attempt off of the left upright. 

Through four games, the Raiders led the NFL with 11 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. Kiner tacked one more onto that growing list, but got back into the action when the game was already decided and ripped off a 32-yard run to help bolster his rushing totals to six carries and 52 yards on the day.

Without Henderson in the lineup and Kiner’s fumbling woes, Stevenson received the bulk of the backfield load throughout. In addition to his running, he also added three catches on as many targets and 21 yards as a receiver, providing a checkdown option for Maye on the rare occasion when openings weren’t present past the sticks.

The Patriots’ -0.09 EPA/rush and 38.7% success rate weren’t numbers to write home about, but their 31 carries for 165 yards did include 78 yards before contact and 87 after contact — a much more even split than they’ve had thus far. Slowly but surely, New England is finding balance on the ground.

The home team won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and did so in a much different way than usual on defense.

Kirk Cousins was efficient, but largely ineffective, in a 19-of-28, 243-yard, one touchdown outing that featured three sacks, an EPA/dropback of +0.03 and a respectable passer rating of 106.7. In total, Cousins’ statistical performance would be good enough to win games on a weekly basis, but the warts of the Raiders’ offense appeared in critical moments.

Las Vegas finished the game just 5-of-13 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down, and weren’t able to concoct any reliable offense outside of tight end Brock Bowers’ big day. The All-Pro led all receivers with eight receptions on 10 targets and 110 receiving yards, and added one touchdown in the first quarter — beating Marcus Jones on a corner route from 11 yards out.

For the vast majority of the game, it was the Patriots’ four-man rush that dictated the pace of the action when the Raiders possessed the football — applying pressure on Cousins on 47.5% of his dropbacks while blitzing at just a 22.5% rate (per SūmerSports). When under pressure, Cousins completed just 3-of-9 passing attempts with 49 yards, three sacks, and registered an EPA/play of -0.66 and passer rating of 52.5.

It was second-year standout Elijah Ponder who engineered an excellent outing for New England’s pass rush. On 24 pass rushing snaps, he recorded four pressures, two sacks, one quarterback hit, one hurry, and one forced fumble on a strip-sack of Cousins to end the first half. Ponder’s elite 90.3 pass rushing grade (per PFF) not only ranked first on the team, but was a league-best mark for edge rushers on Sunday. His two sacks were a career-high.

Ponder’s first sack in the second quarter pushed Las Vegas out of field goal range, and his second resulted in the Cousins fumble. His 26.1% pass-rush win-rate was also a team-high, and tied rookie edge rusher Gabe Jacas. Milton Williams, who enjoyed his best performance of the 2026 regular season, racked up five pressures, one quarterback hit, and four hurries on 28 pass-rushing snaps, and registered a pass-rush win-rate of 21.4%.

Dre’Mont Jones and Jacas also made timely contributions off of the edge. Jones blew up an end-around to wide receiver Tre Tucker for a loss of 11 yards after the Kiner fumble, pinning the Raiders back behind the chains and eventually leading to the missed field goal. Jacas’ lone quarterback hit of the game came on a third-down stop late in the third quarter.

The Patriots’ front-seven controlled the game, and while their dominance in the pass-rush was evident, their greater impact came against Las Vegas’ rushing attack — or lack thereof.

One of the more closely monitored situations in pre-game was the health and availability of Raiders’ star running back Ashton Jeanty, who was listed as questionable with an ankle/knee injury. Jeanty was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, was limited on Thursday, and did not participate on Friday, but gave it a go on Sunday. 

He quickly disappeared when the action began.

Jeanty rushed 10 times for 27 yards (2.7 yards per carry) in the game and added three receptions for 50 yards as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. He was Las Vegas’ second-leading receiver in catches, targets (six) and yards behind Bowers, but was lost amidst a very forgettable showing for the Raiders by land.

On 18 rushing attempts, Las Vegas only generated 38 yards rushing as a team (2.1 yards per carry). Reserve running back Dylan Laube (four carries, nine yards) found the end zone in garbage time, while rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. rushed once for five yards; that was the Raiders’ longest rushing attempt of the day.

Of Las Vegas’ 38 rushing yards, 43 came after contact (not a typo), and they generated an EPA/rush of -0.34. 

Linebackers Christian Elliss (seven tackles, three stops, 79.3 run defense grade) and Robert Spillane (five tackles, three stops, 75.5 run defense grade) led the way on New England’s side, but a collective team effort early and a ballooning advantage late deterred the Raiders from finding any semblance of stability on the ground. 

Without Gonzalez, Davis, Canada, or Prunty in the lineup for the Patriots at cornerback, Sunday could have been disastrous on the perimeter when Las Vegas had the football. Instead, it was an opportunity for Charles Woods and Kindle Vildor to shine. And they ran with it.

New England’s substitute cornerbacks held up well in coverage, sitting on underneath routes to come up with timely pass breakups and cut several Raiders’ drives short. Woods was targeted three times in coverage and gave up just one reception for a loss of three yards, registered two pass breakups, and accounted for a passer rating against of 42.4. His 91.0 coverage grade was a team-high and ranked as the top-mark for cornerbacks around the league on Sunday — as did his 90.8 overall defensive grade (per PFF).

Vildor was targeted five times and gave up two receptions for 27 yards, registered one pass breakup and accounted for a passer rating against of 57.9. He also forced a fumble on Bowers — the first of the tight end’s career — that was recovered by Craig Woodson on a 4th-and-3 conversion attempt late in the third quarter. His 82.9 coverage ranked second on the team behind Woods (minimum of 10 coverage snaps played).

Marcus Jones drew the short stick in coverage this week as the top-dog of a decimated group. He gave up size and weight to Bowers (Jones is 5’8”, 188 pounds; Bowers is 6’4”, 235 pounds) when the Patriots matched the receiving threat with a corner, and surrendered five catches on five targets, 73 yards, and one touchdown in the game. Certainly not the greatest showing from Jones, but also not the ideal matchup if the playing field were level.

With a shrinking corner room on a defense that ran nickel (five defensive backs) on 93% of their plays in Week 5, New England also had six safeties take at least nine snaps in coverage. Woodson, Kevin Byard, Mike Brown, Jaylen Reed, practice squad call-up Elliott Davison, and the newly activated Brenden Schooler all saw time on defense during the win.

An area of concern for the Patriots entering Sunday was an asset by the game’s end, although the results may not be near the same if the team is forced to field that thin of a group against a more capable wide receiver room on the opposing sideline. Still, a nod of the cap to Woods and Vildor was well-earned.

Another major area of weakness has become one of great strength for New England over the course of the last two weeks: situational football.

Through the first three weeks of the regular season, the Patriots ranked dead-last in the NFL in points per drive (0.97) and red zone efficiency (16.7%), ranked 29th in the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of just 32.5%, and only produced two touchdowns on offense. 

That began to turn against the Bills with a 3-for-3 red zone showing, and continued against the Raiders with a 4-for-5 performance inside the 20-yard-line. New England went 5-of-12 on third down and 2-of-2 on fourth down last week, and followed that up with another efficient 6-of-12 and 2-of-2 outing against Las Vegas. Their 536 total yards of offense were the most in the Mike Vrabel era, and rank eighth all-time in the franchise's regular season history. Their 45 points scored were the highest total for the team since a 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 2, 2022.

In the last two games, a blistering hot Patriots’ offense has put up ten touchdowns and 941 total yards of offense — both marks top the league. They’ve scored touchdowns on 8-of-9 trips into the red zone in those games, have raised their third-down conversion rate to 45.8% (fifth in the NFL), and are a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth down in that span. 

It may have taken three games for New England’s offense to commence lift-off, but since they have, they’ve been firing on all cylinders. 

A dominant showing for the Patriots on both sides of the ball saw them rob the Raiders of their gold in Week 5. Drake Maye and the New England offense have displayed exponential growth over the course of the last two games, and with the return of A.J. Brown on the horizon, even greener pastures may lie ahead. The Patriots have weathered the storm of significant injuries on both sides of the ball, and their resilience and mental fortitude has been a sticking point as they’ve crawled back above .500 for the first time this fall. Sunday’s win against Las Vegas was the team’s most impressive outing yet.

New England will remain at home next week, as they get set to welcome the Jets (2-3) to Gillette Stadium in their second AFC East matchup of the 2026 regular season.

What were your takeaways from the Patriots’ win over the Raiders on Sunday? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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