The first game of the Mike Vrabel era with the New England Patriots ended in disappointment, losing to the Raiders, 20-13. Rainy conditions played a factor for both sides, but ultimately, the Raiders prevailed, proving to be the better team.
While the offense and defense, led by new coordinators Josh McDaniels and Terrell Williams, were both discouraging today, it was the defense’s performance that was most upsetting. Williams’ revamped defense failed repeatedly in the second half, as they missed on numerous opportunities to get a stop, resulting in the team’s loss.
Patriots' Defensive Failures Results in Loss
Although the Patriots gave up a touchdown in their first drive, they played much better for the remainder of the first half. In their next five drives, the Patriots came away with a turnover, forced the Raiders to punt on three straight possessions, and the Raiders missed a field goal.
The Patriots entered halftime with a 10-7 lead. Then, everything fell apart. The Raiders outscored the Patriots 13-3 in the second half, carving up the defense. While the Patriots' offense was no help, the defense couldn't do anything right.
Geno Smith carved up the Patriots' defense, completing 71% of his passes for 362 yards and one touchdown. Former Patriots’ receiver Jakobi Meyers couldn’t be contained, recording 8 receptions and 97 receiving yards.
Even though they shut down the Raiders’ run game, allowing only 56 rushing yards, they gave up 389 total yards, allowing an atrocious 6.3 yards per play. The area where the Patriots struggled the most was on third down, as they failed to secure some crucial stops.
Down 10 with 3:23 left to go, the Patriots decided to blitz the Raiders on 3rd and 20, allowing them to convert a 36-yard gain. The conversion forced the Patriots to use all their timeouts and put the game away.
That conversion was one of five third-down conversions that the Patriots allowed. These numerous mistakes and decisions by Williams cannot happen again.
Hopefully, things will turn out differently next week, as the Patriots take on the Dolphins, whose offense struggled mightily against the Colts.