An Abysmal Second Half Doomed the Patriots vs. the Raiders, Dropping Their Third Week 1 Bout since 2022

All week, the Patriots (rightfully) highlighted the importance of "winning" the second half of games, and wouldn't you know it, that's where their worst football as a team would come from. Not that it was a spectacular first half from them either, but the lack of a coherent run game, ability to take advantage of good passing opportunities because Maye was either being pressured off the edge or just sailing balls, and the cavalcade of chunk plays allowed defensively, now has this team in an 0-1 hole for the third time in the last four years. Here's ultimately what I didn't like, and some of why I'm not exactly rushing to hit the panic button just yet either.

Getting Too Cute with Sim. Pressure Early and Blitz Readjustment

Sim pressure is fairly common when it comes to Mike Vrabel's teams, and just in general, can create a ton of opportunities for yourself on that side of the ball. However, the most notable case of the Patriots dialing up some sim pressure yesterday was advantageous, just not for them.

The only way I can justify dropping two of your three best pass rush options and your two best IDLs is that you thought Ashton Jeanty was only going to chip and go on an angle route, or if you were expecting some drag route over the middle so one of Christian Barmore or Milton Williams could snuff that out. Well, neither of those was the case, and Geno Smith caught Jaylinn Hawkins flat-footed in the middle third and delivered a laser beam for six as Harold Landry was in his grill.

Even as the Patriots decided to blitz effectively (with a 43.6% blitz rate, the third-highest rate in Week 1 before MNF), they had great success in the first half. However, the Raiders were able to reset themselves in the second half and generate chunk plays aplenty against the blitz. By my count, they allowed seven second-half plays to gain at least five yards on the nine blitzes they sent in the second half. That would include this gigantic Brock Bowers gain, who never felt contained yesterday, never mind stopped. Pretty rough day period for the Patriots cover guys, even Carlton Davis, who allowed that game-sealing 3rd & 20 conversion.

With all that said, the Patriots did have a couple of standout performers here in the form of first-year players Milton Williams and Harold Landry, the latter of whom currently leads the NFL in sacks with 2.5, while both applied seven pressures apiece. Landry was spectacular, but Williams did this, logging the most amount of snaps he's ever played in a single game before, which is a great sign.

Drake Maye's Struggles

I do not believe that Drake Maye was abysmal or anything of the sort on Sunday, but the start of his sophomore season did leave something to be desired. This sailed ball, intended for Pop Douglas, while no guarantee of being a first down if thrown right, was not exactly the best way to kick off 2025, and this wasn't the only bad throw he made either.

It wasn't all bad for Maye, though. He was really good getting the ball to Hunter Henry and Kayshon Boutte, then even Stefon Diggs in what was ultimately a limited day for him. It's throws like this one to the former that get me to accept the good with the bad this early into his NFL career.

Maye's biggest struggles in this one, for me, were his footwork, which seemed to take a step back for a game, his ability to sense backside pressure while in scramble mode, and his tendency to be a bit lax when things break down. He lucked out huge on that non-strip sack where Crosby got a hand in, but not enough to "technically" force a fumble (it wasn't because of a lack of effort). It was definitely a disappointing day, but I don't understand the sect of Patriots fans abandoning ship whatsoever.

Rookie OL-Men ride the Struggle Bus

While a good learning experience in the long run, both of the Patriots' rookie starters on the left side of the line, Will Campbell and Jared Willson, had mediocre starts to their NFL careers. Campbell let up two sacks in addition to a horrific fourth-quarter false start, then Wilson, who allowed a team-high six pressures on the afternoon. For whatever it's worth, the Tyree Wilson sack that Campbell "let up" was really on Maye, but that strip sack that he fell on was 100% him.

Additionally, I didn't think either rookie stood out on the run blocking front, but then again, neither did the other three linemen. So much so that the Patriots ran one (1) run play with a back in the second half, plus a jet sweep, and then a Maye scramble. I can't say I love McDaniels completely ditching the run, but I can at least understand why, watching this one back. For whatever it may be worth, Mike Vrabel seemed to be content with his two left-side starters as of this morning.

Why Punt?

I certainly wasn't the only one who hated Mike Vrabel's late call to punt on 4th & 10, and even a day later, I still completely dislike it. Even with the Campbell penalty that backed you up five yards, why not at least take a gamble and go for it there? Nothing the defense showed in the second half gave me much confidence that they would get the ball back to the offense, and sure enough, they allowed a 3rd & 20 conversion on that very drive. Here was Vrabel's explanation post-game.

I don't love the lack of aggressiveness, especially when a conversion could've been a huge momentum swing. Obviously, it wouldn't have reached the magnitude of some of those late big plays by the Bills last night, but sometimes all it takes is one play to jumpstart things, and there was still over five minutes left at that point. I simply don't get it.

Gaffney's Three Stars from Patriots-Raiders -

1st Star: Harold Landry (2.5 Sacks, 7 Pressures, 5 Defensive Stops)

2nd Star: Kayshon Boutte (6 Receptions on 8 Targets for 103 Yards)

3rd Star: Milton Williams (7 Pressures, 3 Defensive Stops)

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