Foxborough, MA â Despite being down multiple starters, the Patriots flexed their mettle in a dominant 45-17 victory over the Raiders at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
On a day when New England celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Super Bowl XXXVI championship team, the current Patriots threw it back to the dynasty era where a well-oiled machine would overcome injuries to key players thanks to a coaching staff that had backups ready to play and an MVP-caliber quarterback who could elevate a short-handed supporting cast.
The Patriots entered Sunday's game without star WR A.J. Brown (IR), top corners Christian Gonzalez and Calrton Davis, leading receiver Mack Hollins (IR), and starting RG Mike Onwenu (IR), among others. Then the Pats lost starting LT Will Campbell (knee) and speedy RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) during the game. Despite being down multiple starters, the Pats strong foundation at head coach and quarterback proved too strong to crack on Sunday.
Without sounding too flowery, it's a sign of a good team when the program's infrastructure is solid enough to withstand injuries. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel's staff had backups at cornerback (Kindle Vildor, Charles Woods), wide receiver (Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams), and along the offensive line (Caleb Lomu, Ben Brown) ready to go. The Pats had their full call sheet available to them offensively and defensively, which speaks to that preparedness.
"All the credit goes to the players: Josh [McDaniels] and Zak [Kuhr] and Jeremy [Springer]; they do a fantastic job. I think our coaches are great, and they understand the game plan, and they try to get their players ready," Vrabel said after the game. "They have high expectations of themselves as coaches, and I'm lucky to be able to have them."
Plus, it's always a bonus when your quarterback plays like an MVP candidate. On Sunday, QB Drake Maye threw for 374 passing yards and five total touchdowns despite missing his No. 1 receiver (Brown), starting left tackle (Campbell), and the Pats top target through the first four games (Hollins). Despite being without multiple frontline players, the 45 points for the Patriots were the most they've scored with Maye as their starter. With strong coaching and quarterback play, you can remove as many Jenga pieces as you want, and the tower still stands, or at least that's how it should be for a good football team.
After a 1-2 start, New England is on a two-game winning streak, with a statement win in Buffalo and a dominant home showing vs. the Raiders. Although the injuries that continue to pile up will be a major story heading into next week, the Patriots have leveled off with the Jets (2-3) up next at Gillette Stadium in Week 6 â impressive stuff from Vrabel, Maye, and company to get the team back on track after some early-season adversity.
Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 3-2 with a win over the Raiders in Week 5.
1. Player of the Game: QB Drake Maye Records Second 300-yard Passing Game of Career
Like the rest of the Patriots, Maye started slowly, with a three-game slump that had folks coming out of the woodwork to call for the Patriots quarterback's demise.
Well, reports of Maye's demise were premature. The Pats QB threw for the second-most passing yards in his career (374) and had his second-career five-touchdown performance (four passing, one rushing). Maye's +28.7 total EPA was the second-highest output of his career, just shy of his Week 17 performance vs. the Jets in 2025, while his +0.76 EPA per drop-back ranked in the 100th percentile for QB efficiency.
Maye went 4-of-6 for 149 passing yards and two touchdowns on throws over 20 air yards. The Raiders played a 55.3% single-high safety coverage rate against Maye. Frankly, I'm stunned every time the defense gives Maye 1-on-1s downfield instead of playing out of two-high safety zones. If you're going to play with a single-high safety, Maye's downfield passing will shine until you put a top on the defense.
"It's just really just an example of practice execution showing up in the game, and I think that's the biggest thing that I can maybe hint at is that guys in practice are treating the walkthroughs and even the reps we have in full speed and making 'em count," Maye said post-game. "Coach [Josh] McDaniels was â it was beautiful. It was beautiful to be a part of today. He was clicking on all cylinders, making us look good, and we were executing."
Maye began his downfield throwing clinic with a 35-yard touchdown pass to WR DeMario Douglas. The Pats are running a three-receiver "dagger" concept where Douglas's route is supposed to clear out the coverage for Kyle Williams's deep dig. However, Vegas doesn't sort it out well downfield, and they leave Douglas open for six.
Later in the game, the Pats came back to the same play with TE Eli Raridon motioning into his wheel route. Raridon gets matched downfield in zone coverage and gets on top of the linebacker, with Maye layering the ball in perfectly for a 31-yard completionâa plus-plus throw.
After getting off the schneid last week, it feels like the monkey is off Maye's back. The Pats QB snapped his five-game turnover streak and played MVP-caliber football on Sunday.
2. WR Kyle Williams Breaks Out with Career-High 91 Receiving Yards, TD vs. Raiders
Without Brown and Hollins, the Patriots needed others to step up, and Williams led a well-balanced attack. Along with Williams's career day, the Patriots also got solid performances from DeMario Douglas (4 catches, 65 yards, 2 TDs), Efton Chism III (5 catches, 57 yards), and Romeo Doubs, who drew two big pass interference penalties (27 and 24 yards).
On Williams, the second-year wideout has been waiting for his opportunity in a crowded wide receiver room over the last two seasons. The 23-year-old admitted it's been challenging to wait for his chance to showcase his talents and that he hasn't always risen to the occasion when called upon in the past. On Sunday, he caught two bombs from Maye, including a 34-yard third-quarter touchdown on his best route.
On his 34-yard touchdown, the Raiders appear to rotate post-snap into a cover-three zone, with the corners carrying outside verticals in the 989 concept. Williams, who has shown a knack for separating over the top on go routes, runs right by Raiders CB Hezekiah Masses for six.
"It's more of a reminder for myself to know that I'm still here and I am who I say I am. That was big for me. This week was a little hard for me. So, ya, I'm glad I'm back on track," Williams said post-game. "I've had a couple of opportunities leading up to this game that I didn't capitalize on how I'd want to, so making those plays was a good confidence boost for me."
3. Patriots Defense Turns Up the Heat on Raiders QB Kirk Cousins in Sunday's Win
Turning to the defense, the Patriots front challenged itself this week to step up for a depleted secondary missing starting corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III. According to NextGen Stats, the Pats pressured Raiders QB Kirk Cousins on 48.4% of his drop-backs, which is in the danger zone for any quarterback.
"We're down four guys (in the secondary), so they put it on us to try to affect the quarterback a little bit more. I feel like we did that to them. We knew it already but the (coaches) preached it at the same time," said DT Milton Williams. "Kirk (Cousins) is kind of like Aaron Rodgers. They have computers in their head. They process information really fast and try to get the ball out. So, I'm just trying to win as fast as we can, affect the middle of the pocket, and try to get them to hesitate on some of these throws."
The most encouraging aspect of the Patriots relentless pass rush was that they generated pressure with a four-man rush. The Pats had 13 pressures on 30 drop-backs with a four-man rush (43.3%), a significant increase from the first four weeks (25.6%). Leading the way was Williams (five pressures) and OLB Elijah Ponder (two sacks, four total pressures). If the Pats can generate pressure without blitzing, that would be huge, and we know their blitz package is already highly effective at disrupting opposing offenses.
4. Patriots Offensive Line Limits Raiders Front to Win the Line of Scrimmage
Sticking with the trenches, the Patriots offensive line also did its part to win the line of scrimmage in Sunday's win. According to NextGen Stats, Maye faced pressure on only 39.5% of his drop-backs, despite losing starting LT Will Campbell early in the second quarter. Campbell left the game with a knee injury and did not return, so that's something to monitor.
In his absence, first-rounder Caleb Lomu played well at left tackle. On initial viewing, Lomu allowed just one hurry in 25 pass-blocking snaps. The rookie mostly faced Raiders EDGE Malcolm Koonce (11 matchups), with star DE Maxx Crosby rushing over the right tackle. Lomu got one 1-on-1 rep against Crosby, and he won, with the Raiders flipping Crosby for a rep almost as soon as the rookie got in the game. The O-Line did get called for five penalties, which is notable, but we'll give them some grace with a flag-happy crew.
"On the first touchdown to Pop, I'm back there, credit the offensive line, eating a ham sandwich, so I got all day back there," Maye said after the game.
5. Patriots Depth CBs Step Up Down Starters Christian Gonzalez & Carlton Davis III
On Friday, the Patriots ruled out four cornerbacks on their 53-man roster, including top starters Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III. When a rash of injuries hits one position, it tests your depth, and the Pats corners filled in well, with Marcus Jones (47 snaps), Kindle Vildor (43 snaps), and Charles Woods (33 snaps) as their top three.
Despite playing a Raiders offense that only played 11 snaps (19.3%) with three receivers on the field, the Pats stuck in nickel defense on 93% of their defensive plays. Some of that was three-safety nickel with NDB Jaylen Reed in the slot, but Jones, Vildor, and Woods stepped up against Vegas's tight-end-heavy groupings: Woods logged two pass breakups, while Vildor had a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
"It's great, man. When it comes down to it, we know all those guys prepare like starters. So, those guys just took advantage of the opportunity," Jones said of Vildor and Woods.
6. Raiders TE Brock Bowers the Lone Bright Spot for the Raiders Offense
Bowers going off for eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown was 1. a tip-your-cap moment to a terrific player and 2. Kind of like a basketball player scoring 50 points but the rest of his team does very little. Outside of Bowers, the Raiders didn't have much else on offense, so you can live with a great player making some great plays against you on Sunday.
The Pats threw "scheme" at Bowers all day with different coverages and primary defenders. To start the game, the Pats had NCB Marcus Jones cover Bowers. Jones is highly competitive in coverage but gave up too much size, allowing two big plays at the catch point, including Bowers's 13-yard TD. New England also "clouded" Bowers by jamming him at the line and bracketed him throughout the day, so it wasn't for a lack of trying. Eventually, Bowers couldn't keep up with the Pats offense by himself, while Jones credited the pass rush with helping the secondary slow Bowers down a bit as the game wore on.
"We always know where he's at on the field and everything, but our main thing was making it more difficult on the quarterback," Jones said, crediting the Patriots pass rush.
7. Play of the Game II: WR Efton Chism III Runs Unplanned Hook-and-Ladder
We had to shoehorn in Chism's successful hook-and-ladder with RB TreVeyon Henderson to convert a 3rd-and-11 in the second quarter. According to Maye, it wasn't a designed play, so Chism caught the shallow crosser and decided to throw it over to Henderson when he saw the speedy running back in space. It was executed so perfectly it looked like it was designed. The Pats didn't get points on the drive, but it was still sweet.
8. Patriots Special Teams Report in Blowout Win over the Raiders
New England's special teams also had a clean performance, with K Andy Borregales making a 28-yard field goal and all of his six extra points. P Mitch Wishnowsky had a punt downed at the Vegas 13-yard line for an I20 while punting from the Vegas 40. The Pats also got special-teams ace Brenden Schooler back, who played 22 snaps in the kicking game and helped hold the Raiders' top-ranked kickoff return unit to a 24.8 average (long of 32 yards).
The Patriots will enjoy the victory for the next few hours before turning the page to a divisional matchup against the Jets at Gillette Stadium next Sunday.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
