NFL Experts Predict Patriots to Fall Short vs Raiders in Week 5

The New England Patriots saved their season last week with a win over the Buffalo Bills, improving their record to 2-2.

Before the win over the Bills, the Patriots looked dead in the water, especially on the offensive end of the field. But against Buffalo, New England was able to generate scoring plays, with quarterback Drake Maye looking like the version of himself from a year ago.

Maye was the runner up in the MVP race last season, making his struggles to open the 2026 campaign even more head-scratching. The signal-caller was able to find some comfort in the pocket against the Bills, and he will now be looking to build upon that performance this week.

New England will be heading back home, facing the upstart Las Vegas Raiders this coming week. Las Vegas poses its own set of challenges for the Patriots, with the team having multiple weapons on offense who can change a game instantly.

NFL analysts Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, Kris Knox, Moe Moton, Brent Sobleski, Wes O'Donnell, and Ian Hanford of Bleacher Report predicted each game on the schedule this week. In the one for the Patriots and Raiders, only two of the seven experts went with New England to win at home.

Gagnon and O'Donnell were the only two people to pick the Patriots, with the group showing a lack of trust in this team. But given how the year has started for New England, they may need to prove themselves before trust can be earned again.

For the Patriots to take down the Raiders, they are going to have contain the Las Vegas offense. Las Vegas has done well in the passing game this season, with quarterback Kirk Cousins flinging the ball all over the field.

New England will be without a few key players in this game, including star cornerback Christian Gonzalez. This could give them some challenges in the secondary against the Raiders, and the Patriots will need to be careful to avoid giving up big plays.

Maye is going to have to counter this, putting together another strong outing, proving that last week was no fluke. The play of Maye is ultimately the biggest piece to this game, and the outcome of the game will likely be determined by which version of him the Patriots get this week.

Kickoff between the Patriots and Raiders is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium.