The New England Patriots beat the Las Vegas Raiders 45-17 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, averaging about 8 yards a play against a Raiders offense stuck near 5. New England scored first and never trailed, with Drake Maye accounting for five touchdowns.
The gap showed up in yardage and possession. New England gained 536 yards to 306 and held the ball for more than 34 minutes. Las Vegas could not run at all, finishing with 38 rushing yards on 18 carries.
How It Happened
Maye opened the scoring at 11:23 of the first quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas. Las Vegas answered three minutes later when Kirk Cousins found Brock Bowers for 13 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson's 5-yard run with 1:30 left in the quarter put New England back in front.
Neither team scored in the second quarter until the final minute. With 24 seconds left in the half, Maye hit Hunter Henry from 11 yards out to extend the lead.
Maye opened the third-quarter scoring with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. Matt Gay answered with a 46-yard field goal for Las Vegas, but Maye ran in from 3 yards late in the quarter.
Andy Borregales added a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth. Dylan Laube scored on a 2-yard run for the Raiders, and Maye closed the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Douglas at 6:06.
Key Performers
Drake Maye: 4 TD passes (35, 11, 34, 8 YDS), 1 rushing TD (3 YDS)
DeMario Douglas: 2 receiving TD (35, 8 YDS)
Patriots passing: 26-34, 371 YDS, 0 INT
Patriots rushing: 31 ATT, 165 YDS
Brock Bowers: 1 receiving TD (13 YDS)
Raiders passing: 25-36, 268 YDS, 0 INT
Raiders rushing: 18 ATT, 38 YDS
Maye was the difference. He threw touchdowns to three different receivers and finished the job himself on the ground, while New England completed 26 of 34 passes at nearly 11 yards per attempt.
The run game backed him up. The Patriots ran 31 times for 165 yards, picking up 8 first downs on the ground to the Raiders' 2. New England also went 4 for 5 in the red zone.
What It Means
New England moves to 3-2 and is a different team at home. The Patriots are 2-0 at Gillette Stadium and 1-2 on the road, and Sunday's win came with 29 first downs, 2 for 2 on fourth down and just 1 sack allowed.
The home split matters because the Patriots' road form has not matched it. Until the road results catch up, the 3-2 record says more about where they play than how good they are.
Las Vegas also falls to 3-2, with a 2-1 road mark. The Raiders moved the ball through the air but went 0 for 2 on fourth down and committed 8 penalties for 101 yards.
A one-dimensional offense will not keep up with many opponents. Cousins and Bowers connected for the Raiders' lone first-half touchdown, and after that Las Vegas managed only a field goal and a fourth-quarter touchdown.