David Butler II-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2026 11:15 AM
Drake Maye and the New England Patriots’ offense exploded for 45 points in a blowout victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. We break down some of Maye’s best throws from a career day on this week’s All-22 Review.
Welcome back to the All-22 Review.
In this week’s episode, we review just three of the many explosive plays the New England Patriots generated in an emphatic 45-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. New England’s outpouring of 536 total offensive yards were their most in the Mike Vrabel era, and Drake Maye’s 374 passing yards and five total touchdowns were the catalyst for sustaining momentum for a full 60 minutes.
With a passer rating of 150.9 and an EPA of +0.80, limiting this week’s breakdown to just three plays was… challenging. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at three of his best dimes of the day: Maye’s first touchdown to DeMario Douglas, his 31-yard connection with Eli Raridon, and the 49-yard bomb to Kyle Williams to conclude the third quarter.
Without further adieu, here’s a detailed breakdown of each play:
Maye, Douglas Kick Off the Scoring
Game Situation: NE 0, LV 0; 11:23 - 1st; 1st & 10 at LV 35
It didn’t take long for the Patriots to jump out to an early lead against Las Vegas. After the New England defense forced a three-and-out, the offense took the field and quickly mounted a five-play, 79-yard touchdown drive in 2:33 to go up by a touchdown — capped off by a walk-in touchdown for DeMario Douglas.
On this play, Douglas is aligned in the slot and runs a post route, with Kyle Williams running a dig behind it from the X position. The dagger concept here is designed to uncover Williams’ dig against the Raiders’ called-Cover 4, but safeties Treydan Stukes and Jeremy Chinn both bite down to take away that route. The result? Nobody on the Las Vegas defense carried Douglas deep, and the coverage bust left the shifty wideout all alone for the score.
The Patriots’ offensive line gave Maye all day to progress through his reads on the play, or as he put it in his post-game press conference, “eat a ham sandwich” in the pocket, and he made them pay for the lapse in coverage downfield. The 35-yard strike put New England ahead early, and opened the floodgates for future success later on.
Maye’s Hole Shot to Raridon
Game Situation: NE 28, LV 10; 6:43 - 3rd; 1st & 10 at 50
The Patriots returned to that dagger concept several times against Las Vegas, and our second play on this list is one of those.
On this play, the window dressing is different — 12 personnel instead of 11 personnel, and pre-snap motion from the tight end instead of the running back — but the route concept is the same. Rather than Cover 4, the Raiders countered this dagger look with an Inverted Tampa 2 coverage shell. Linebacker Nakobe Dean carried the through route (run by Efton Chism III) up the middle of the field and Romeo Doubs was loosely bracketed on the dig, but that didn’t matter.
Eli Raridon was the motion man pre-snap, and he got a step on his clear-out route up the sideline on linebacker Quay Walker, who was the flat defender underneath the play. Much like his aggressive highlights against Cover 2 last year, Maye recognized Raridon’s (limited) separation immediately, and dropped the throw to him in-stride — over the linebacker and underneath the corner, Darien Porter, who had become the deep-half defender to that side of the field.
One of Maye’s best throws of the season to-date, and a nod back to his previous successes against the coverage. When he’s in rhythm, he makes that throw with ease. And boy, was he in rhythm on Sunday.
Maye, Williams Beat the Blitz
Game Situation: NE 35, LV 10; 0:36 - 3rd; 3rd & 2 at NE 42
Las Vegas didn’t blitz Maye much during Sunday’s game, but when they did, Maye made them pay. 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.
This 49-yard shot to Kyle Williams was Maye’s longest completion of the day and was his greatest highlight against the Raiders’ blitz. On the play, Las Vegas brings both of their off-ball linebackers in on the rush, showing Cover 0 before dropping each interior defensive linemen into underneath zone coverage. The pass-rush still sent five blitzers, and gave Maye one-on-one matchups with Doubs (who trips and falls) and Williams on a deep post.
Maye took the latter without hesitation, ripping a bomb deep into the secondary and perfectly placing the ball in Williams’ arms inside the Raiders’ 10-yard-line. The receiver won quickly versus press coverage against Porter with an inside release, and had the speed to separate further down the field. A great route, a great read, and a great throw to put an exclamation point on Maye’s most complete showing of the 2026 regular season.
Looking Ahead
By any statistical or analytical measure, 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. His pocket presence, patience, and decision-making were all strengths on Sunday, and they never relented en route to his second-career 300-yard passing performance and second consecutive game with three-plus passing touchdowns. Regardless of coverage, pressure, or game situation, Maye was equally effective. He was the driving force of New England’s 45-point outburst — the highest total for the team since a 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 2, 2022.
What did you think of Maye’s performance in the Patriots’ win over the Raiders? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.
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