New England Patriots: Grading the 5 bold player predictions vs Raiders

JoeJuan Williams helped stop Darren Waller

New England Patriots second-year cornerback JoeJuan Williams didn’t record his first-career interception, but he was a big factor in holding Las Vegas Raiders outstanding tight end Darren Waller to just 2 receptions for 9 yards.

In what was really a team effort, the Patriots’ secondary was able to neutralize Waller because of Williams’ ability to play him in a man-to-man matchup.

Although most of the secondary took turns on Waller, JoeJuan Williams led the way, covering him 8 times.

In fact, both of Waller’s catches came against the Patriots’ top two secondary defenders Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson.  Neither of those catches gained much yardage.

In switching from man to zone and giving the Raiders offense different looks, Bill Belichick was once again successful taking out the other team’s main offensive weapon.  He credits the players for the job they did.

"“I thought the guys competed against Waller good,” Belichick said after the game.  “A couple of different guys matchup up on him depending what the coverage was, and there was some zone coverage in there as well.  He’s a good player and a tough guy to defend.  I’d say part of it, though, we played zone against them, so it wasn’t all man-to-man matchups.”"

JoeJuan Williams wasn’t the only one responsible for Darren Waller, but he definitely did a great job in keeping him quiet.

Grade: A