The Pete Carroll era with the Las Vegas Raiders started in a big way, as the defensive mastermind saw first hand why he believes things will turn around for the franchise. Carroll's defense dominated the New England offense in a 20-13 victory to get to 1-0, holding Patriots offense to just three points in the second half.
Las Vegas got the dynamic duo of Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce back, as the two combined for two sacks and four quarterback hits in the win. The Raiders defense had nine quarterback hits and forced a turnover in the win, holding the Patriots to just 137 yards in the second half.
While the Raiders' defense was encouraging, so was Geno Smith in his Vegas debut. Smith threw for 362 yards and a touchdown in the victory as the Raiders put up 390 yards of offense. Ashton Jeanty (19 carries for 38 yards) also scored a touchdown in his NFL debut.
The Patriots got off to a strong start with Drake Maye, who threw a touchdown pass in the opening quarter, but the offense was essentially nonexistent over the final three frames. Maye had 170 yards passing and an interception over the final 45 minutes, and the Patriots had only 43 yards rushing in that stretch.
The biggest calling card of a Carroll-coached team is defense, and the Raiders were flying to the football in the first game under Carroll's scheme. Las Vegas had 17 pressures in the victory, highlighted by five from Crosby -- who had a sack and two quarterback hits as well. The pressure got to Maye, who went 3 of 8 passing for 32 yards and an interception when pressured -- a 10.4 passer rating -- while also being sacked three times.
The Patriots had just 134 yards in the second half, only getting a field goal late to make this game closer than what it was. The Raiders made all the adjustments after the first quarter to get to 1-0.
New England couldn't get anything going in the run game, a problem that affected Maye's passing in the second half. The Patriots rushed for only 10 yards in the second half, despite the game dictating to run the ball with the weather conditions -- and the Raiders only being up by a score.
The Patriots only had three rushing attempts in the second half -- three! The longest run was a 4-yard carry by wide receiver Demario Douglas. Josh McDaniels called a good game to start, but was putrid balancing the game plan in the final 30 minutes. What the Patriots were doing made little sense.
Maye's interception on the Patriots' first possession of the third quarter seemed to change the complexion of the game. The Patriots were at midfield when Maye looked for Stefon Diggs on a second-and-7 at the Patriots' 48. Maye looked for Diggs down the right side, but overthrew him as the ball landed into the arms of Isaiah Pola-Mao.
The Patriots were up 10-7 at that point. They were outscored 13-3 the rest of the way as Maye went 12 of 21 for 104 yards the rest of the way while being sacked three times (70.3 rating). The game changed for the Patriots and Maye.
This third-and-20 heave by Smith essentially sealed the win for the Raiders, who were up 10 late in the fourth quarter and about to give the ball back to the Patriots. Smith rolled to his right and saw Dont'e Thornton deep down the right side of the field. He threw the 36-yard pass to Thornton for the first down -- which allowed the Raiders to chew another minute off the game clock and force the Patriots to use two timeouts.
By the time the Patriots got the ball back, it was too late. Perhaps they could have rallied if they stopped the Raiders on third-and-20. Credit to Smith, who is the veteran quarterback the Raiders needed on this roster.
The Raiders (1-0) host the (1-0) Chargers on "Monday Night Football" in Week 2 while the Patriots (0-1) travel to Miami to face the (0-1) Dolphins.
With just under five minutes to play, a large contingent of Patriots fans is leaving Gillette Stadium as New England trails Las Vegas, 20-10. They are looking at a 0-1 start.
That was a rough rookie moment for Will Campbell. New England's first round pick was called for a false start as New England was about to go for it on fourth down. Instead, Mike Vrabel brings in the punting unit.
The Las Vegas Raiders have now taken a 10-point lead over New England thanks to a 40-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. Raiders have continued to make timely plays and the Patriots can't seem to slow them down.
Press box announcement -- Raiders star tight end Brock Bowers is questionable to return due to a knee injury.
Brock Bowers is now up to 103 yards receiving on five catches. He's been gashing New England's secondary today. One team has enjoyed explosive plays and the other hasn't. The scoreboard reflects it.
Welcome to the NFL, Ashton Jeanty! The Raiders first-round rookie scores his first touchdown on a three-yard rush to give Las Vegas the 14-10 lead over the Patriots. First of many for the Boise State product. Former Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers was huge on that scoring drive, hauling in 23 and 19 yard receptions.
Maye has been flirting dangerously on the line of throwing an interception and it finally catches up to him. The Patriots QB was trying to hit Diggs deep over the middle, and was rather easily taken in by the Raiders. Can't have those.
Chip Kelly is coaching his first game as an NFL play caller in 9 years.
The Raiders last 3 possessions of the first half
9 plays, -5 yards -- Punt, Punt, Punt
Yes the offensive line is not ideal, but the Geno Smith INT really seemed to hurt the flow of this team. Credit to the Patriots defense, but the Raiders have not been creative at all. Ashton Jeanty has 6 carries for 24 yards
Patriots got lucky on that fourth-and-1 deep pass to Mack Hollins. I don't think that was DPI, but the officials threw the flag, and New England is now deep in Raiders territory.
Chip Kelly's offense with Raiders
First two possessions -- 16 plays, 126 yards -- 7.9 yards per play (TD, INT)
Next two possessions -- 6 plays, 1 yard -- 0.2 yards per play (punt, punt)
Kelly's offenses always get off to a hot start in the NFL (look at his career with Eagles), then start to fizzle. 9 years after being fired as a play caller, the result looks the same.
Woof. One of the sneaky big issues surrounding the Patriots this summer was their shakiness in the kicking game. It rears its head here with Borregales going wide right on a 40-yarder.
Maye has started today completing 8-of-13 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He's found five different receivers as the Patriots are averaging 6.3 yards per play. Theis offense under Josh McDaniels is moving so much better than whatever they had out last year.
Press box announcement -- Raiders LB Elandon Roberts is questionable to return with an elbow injury.
Drake Maye had been out of sync with Pop Douglas for most of this game thus far, but the two connected in the left corner of the end zone to tie the game at 7 apiece. That was Douglas' first catch on four targets (team high).
Looks like Roberts went down hard on that last play. Was grimacing in pain as the broadcast went to commercial. Hope it's not the knee, but it looked like a lower body injury. The broadcast showed Roberts walking off with a trainer.
Kayshon Boutte is walking off the field after being slow to get up following his 24-yard gain. Trainers are looking at him on the sideline.
And just as I say that, Jaylinn Hawkins hauls in the interception that was tipped by Carlton Davis. Huge turnover for the Patriots to stop the Raiders from putting up points and building on their 7-0 lead.
The Raiders have converted all three of their third-down situations thus far, including that third-and-10. New England's defense is looking quite soft today.
We saw this summer that Drake Maye started his preseason exhibitions a bit erratically. Against Minnesota specifically, he sailed a couple of throws over his intended target. On third-and-9 on the opening drive of the season for the offseason, he completely missed on a wide-open Pop Douglas. A quick three-and-out follows the Raiders scoring drive.
Well, that was quick. Geno Smith connects with Tre Tucker for a 26-yard touchdown. He was wide open on what seemed to be a blown coverage by safety Jaylin Hawkins. Las Vegas quickly up, 7-0.
Welcome back, Brock Bowers. Geno Smith wastes no time building up his rapport with his new No. 1 pass-catching option. On the very first snap of the game, Smith connects with the tight end for 23 yards. Ashton Jeanty follows that up with a nine-yard gain on the ground. Chunk plays early.
Raiders call tails, and it comes up heads. The Patriots have deferred, and Las Vegas will receive the opening kickoff. And away we go!
With less than 10 minutes until kickoff, the rain has started to pick up a touch. Feels like it will be factor for at least the first half or so.
When I first pulled up to Gillette Stadium at around 11 a.m. local time, it was raining cats and dogs. With about 50 minutes left until kickoff, things are clearing up. Still cloudy with a drizzle, but not a total rainout by any means. Good news for each offense.
We already knew that Christian Gonzalez was going to miss the opener. He's been sidelined since the first day of full pads due to a hamstring injury he suffered while covering Stefon Diggs. In his absence, look for Alex Austin to play a solid amount opposite of Carlton Davis.
New England's first-round rookie was listed as questionable due to an ankle injury that popped up midweek but is active today. The LSU tackle will make his NFL debut blocking the blindside of Drake Maye and squaring off a Las Vegas pass rush headlined by Maxx Crosby. Baptism by fire.
