3 Duds (& 2 Studs) From Patriots Week 6 Loss vs. Raiders

The New England Patriots are down bad after Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season. The Las Vegas Raiders sent the Patriots to a 1-5 record this season and their third straight loss. Over the course of the first six games, the Patriots' offense has been about as bad as anyone could have anticipated, and probably worse than the most pessimistic predictions.

That continued on Sunday against the Raiders as the Patriots were only able to muster up 17 points and 259 total yards of offense. Not good, not good at all.

Which players stood out, for better or worse, in this matchup for the Patriots? Let's take a look at a handful of studs and duds as the Pats are looking like they might be a contender for a top-five pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Stud: Ezekiel Elliott, RB

I think the time has come for the New England Patriots to run their offense through Ezekiel Elliott a little bit more this season. The Patriots' lone win this season came a handful of weeks ago when they actually fed Elliott, giving him 16 carries for 80 yards. Zeke had just eight touches in this game against the Raiders, but averaged almost five yards per carry, had a 15-yard reception, and his first TD as a Patriot.

He's not looking like 2016 Ezekiel Elliott by any means, but the Patriots would be wise to start getting him the football more. They actually had a little something in this game vs. Las Vegas with Elliott and Rhamondre Stevenson averaging close to five yards per carry combined. Maybe Bill O'Brien should lean into that.

Dud: Mac Jones, QB

I don't think there's any question about it at this point, and it's probably way past due, but the New England Patriots probably can't move on from Mac Jones quick enough.

And I think what we're looking at here is not just a benching of Mac Jones, but a complete separation of the two sides here. The Patriots are obviously not a good fit for Jones, and Jones doesn't look like a long-term viable starter at this point.

What does that mean for Jones's future? I'm not sure. I don't think he's going to have great trade value after what we've seen this season, which now includes a boneheaded sack taken in the end zone for a safety in a do-or-die situation.

That's simply just inexcusable from your quarterback. You've got a chance in that situation to go down the field and get a game-winning field goal, you simply cannot hold the ball that long. It's been a disastrous season for Mac Jones.

This could be a messy situation for the next few weeks. With three quarterbacks (Malik Cunningham, Will Grier and Bailey Zappe) in the organization fighting to be potential long-term replacements for Jones, it's hard to even justify having Mac on the gameday roster as the QB2 if he's not starting. And if you're never going to activate him, it's suddenly hard to even justify having him on the 53-man roster.

Does he clear waivers and accept a practice squad role? Almost certainly not.

It's a mess, but that's what Jones' play has been too.

Dud: Patriots Third-Down Defense

Say what you want about Josh McDaniels, but the man obviously knows how to win a chess match against Bill Belichick.

He did it in his first ever matchup against Belichick as a head coach back in Denver (in 2009) and he won the chess match in a big way on Sunday.

Perhaps the most impressive number the Raiders posted on Sunday was 8-of-16, meaning they converted 50 percent of their third down attempts.

Now, 50 percent conversion rate on third downs doesn't look great in a vacuum, but that number includes a kneel at the end of the game on 3rd and 12 and the Patriots only forcing two punts all afternoon.

The Raiders are equipped to wear you down if you can't get off the field on third downs, and the fact that the Patriots weren't able to stop the Raiders enough in this game even with Brian Hoyer at QB is pretty bad.

It wasn't only the usual suspects making the Pats' third-down D look shaky either. Nobody should be giving up easy conversions to Michael Mayer...

Dud: Patriots' Pass-Rush

You know what makes getting stops on third-down a lot harder? When the opposing quarterback has all day to throw.

You can't win games in the NFL if you can't get a pass rush on. The Patriots couldn't get home against either Jimmy Garoppolo or Brian Hoyer in this game (a weird sentence to type) and ultimately, their inability to get adequate pressure on the quarterback cost them in a tight game.

The Patriots ended this game against the Raiders with three QB hits but zero sacks. Sacks aren't the only way to measure pass rush success but you have to get home eventually.

Now, injuries have a lot to do with this. No Matthew Judon for the Patriots means the pass rush could almost be expected to be a dud, but no Josh Uche put this team in an almost impossible spot. But at the end of the day, you don't get an asterisk in the box score because you're dealing with injuries.

Being banged up isn't unique to the Pats, and they need to find a way to generate pressure even without their top rushers on the field.

Stud: Jabrill Peppers, safety

I think you have to give Jabrill Peppers his flowers for his incredible hit on Davante Adams. Just feast your eyes on this:

This is the kind of hit that used to get celebrated in a weekly segment on ESPN. This is the kind of hit that used to make ESPN's Top 10 plays. This is the kind of hit that would have made the NFL's annual highlight reel.

You don't often see hits like this celebrated anymore, because if Davante Adams had acted seriously hurt after this play, the officials are borderline trained to throw a flag. But Adams, to his credit, got right up after this hit, which ultimately resulted in an interception. This was such a huge play by Peppers, who led the team in total tackles at seven.

This is just a fantastic—and legal—hit that will have every throwback NFL safety's approval.

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