Welcome to Season 15, Episode 5 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup . . .
Before we try to figure out who and what the Patriots are as they enter Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders at Gillette Stadium, here’s a quick-snap synopsis of how their four games have gone so far.
⋅ Drake Maye threw three hideous fourth-quarter interceptions in a season-opening loss to the Seahawks, their Super LX conqueror. The game, or at least the mess of an ending, was all too familiar, like a post-credit scene on the Seahawks’ NFL Films championship video.
⋅ The Patriots followed that with a home-opening win over the Steelers that featured a defensive performance as thorough and almost as impressive as Mike Tomlin’s Minecraft world.
⋅ Went back on the road and got walloped by 29 points by a Jaguars team that played with the confidence of the 2025 Patriots.
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⋅ Brushed themselves off after that embarrassing loss, ignored the noise, went to Buffalo and defeated Josh Allen and the unbeaten Bills in their uninspiringly fancy new stadium with a season-saving performance that most outside of their locker room could not see coming.
This, as you may have gathered, has been a difficult team to read 4/17ths into the sequel to an unexpected Super Bowl trip.
So what do we make of them now? What should we make of them after a wildly uneven first month?
Well, as they prepare to host the Raiders, we can say with confidence that the Patriots are a resilient lot — the win in Buffalo is reason enough to believe that.
The same applies to some degree to Maye, who threw just one touchdown pass and six interceptions through the first three games, but won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Bills, when he threw for 269 yards, 3 touchdowns, an interception, and ran for 54 yards. But he must continue to build on that game.
We also know that this team might need a second page for the injury report soon, and attrition is one of the NFL’s cruelest variables. Cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez (who missed the Buffalo game) and Carlton Davis III, receiver Mack Hollins, and fullback Reggie Gilliam missed Thursday’s practice entirely, and eight other players had limited participation. It’s still early, and the depth chart keeps threatening to get shallower.
It’s tough to gauge what to expect from the Patriots Sunday because they’re facing an opponent with contradictions. The Raiders are 3-1 under rookie head coach Klint Kubiak, who was Seattle’s offensive coordinator last year. But their three wins have come over teams that are a combined 1-11 (Dolphins, Chargers, Saints).
They are led by 38-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins, who leads the NFL with 11 touchdown passes — just one more than he had in 10 games last season with the Falcons. Is his performance sustainable? Probably not. But he’s been in full “how-do-you-like-that” mode so far.
Kick it off, Borregales, and let’s get this one started …
Tight end Brock Bowers had five catches for 103 yards last year when the Raiders opened the season with a 20-13 win over the Patriots.
Tight end Brock Bowers had five catches for 103 yards last year when the Raiders opened the season with a 20-13 win over the Patriots.
Three players I’ll be watching not named Drake Maye
Efton Chism : His one-handed catch for the winning touchdown was sensational, and as far as I’m concerned, he should rank higher on the Maye Trust Tree (updated here weekly, apparently) than DeMario Douglas. But I’m still going to push back on those of you who insist he’s the next Wes Welker/Julian Edelman. Danny Amendola, circa 2009? I’ll listen.
Brock Bowers: He’s the best tight end in football in part because he’s not really a tight end at all. Skill-wise, Bowers is a supremely gifted wide receiver disguised by a quintessential (6-foot-4-inch, 235-pounds) tight end frame. In two games since returning from a knee injury, he has 16 catches (on 25 targets) for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Maxx Crosby: Here’s one certainty about the Raiders: Crosby, their relentless pass rusher, won’t chill for a single play against a beat-up Patriots offensive line that allowed 21 pressures on Maye last week. It’s imperative to keep Crosby from wrecking offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’s best-designed plans … and any momentum that might carry over from last week.
Grievance of the week
Please, Drake. Our region begs of you. No more banter about how the moon-landing (or any other historical moment you weren’t alive for) might be a conspiracy theory. Any more of this “but are we really sure?” engagement, and before you know it, Aaron Rodgers might start looking at you from afar as a potential understudy, and you might suddenly feel the urge to burn incense at Gillette Stadium hours before every game. Stick to going deep on the football field, not down wormholes.
18 years ago today...
This one never gets old ❄️ pic.twitter.com/JsmVYF3zsj
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 19, 2020
Flashback!
Whenever the Patriots clash with the Raiders, we’re obliged in this segment of this column to mention the Snow Bowl. The Patriots’ 16-13 overtime win over the Raiders in the 2001 AFC Divisional Round does not feel anywhere near 25 years ago to fans of a certain age, of course. The Patriots will be honoring that 2001 team during a pregame ceremony, with Adam Vinatieri — whose 45-yard game-tying field goal in snow-globe conditions in that game is unquestionably the greatest kick in NFL history — receiving his Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence at halftime. Gotta say, I might trust Vinatieri over Andy Borregales right now to boot an important 45-yard field goal, no matter the conditions.
Prediction, or Mike Haynes should have been a Patriot for life ...
One way to limit high-risk plays and make sure Maye is kept out of harm’s (meaning Crosby’s) way? Get the running game going against the Raiders’ 27th-ranked rush defense (134.5 yards allowed per game). Prediction before the prediction: Tre’Veyon Henderson, who has seven carries for minus-3 yards in situations when the Patriots face second down and 1-to-3 yards to go for a first, busts loose for a long touchdown on a second-and-short opportunity Sunday. Patriots 23, Raiders 20.