The Las Vegas Raiders faced the New England Patriots on September 7th in Week 1of the 2025 NFL season. Here are takeaways and highlights from the game.
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Final Score: Raiders 20, Patriots 13
On paper, both teams appeared poised to make something happen on the field in their first game of the season. However, the Raiders came out victorious, giving head coach Pete Carroll the distinction of not only being the oldest coach in the NFL, but the only one to win his debut games with four different teams (New York Jets, Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Raiders). The Raiders came out with a 20-13 victory on the road in New England.
The Patriots were too inconsistent on both sides of the ball to have any true success. Their defense was able to keep Ashton Jeanty to a minimal amount of yards per carry. Drake Maye was 30-of-46 for 287 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. These stats hide Maye’s inconsistency in the second half of the game after the third-quarter interception. He was 10-of-17 for 83 yards on five second-half drives, which included the interception by Isaiah Pola-Mao.
The Raiders were able to contain New England’s run game. However, the Raiders’ offense faced difficulty in holding the line to keep the Patriots’ defense from getting to Geno Smith. Smith, despite a few missed steps, threw for 362 passing yards, the most in franchise history in a QB’s debut. This broke the record set by Dan Pastorini (317) in 1980.
The Patriots did everything they could to cover up any shortcomings on either side of the ball, pressure from the defense, keeping the offense ahead of the chains, and giving the offense good field position. Despite those things, they couldn’t outrun their mistakes. Will Campbell gave up two sacks and was called for two false-start penalties. Not a good look for the fourth overall pick. Though he will get some slack due to being a rookie, New England will need him to acclimate to the pro level.
Highlights
Geno Smith to Tre Tucker touchdown for the Raiders!
LVvsNE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/CteEp7nh0v
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
.@DrakeMaye2 to @Hunter_Henry84 in space!
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/f7rUUH5ciS
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 7, 2025
The Silver Surfer has arrived 🏄#LVvsNE | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/C1vzVTFSZ9
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 7, 2025
Looking Forward
For the Patriots, fans need to keep in mind that their roster has 33 out of 53 players who are new to the team. Mike Vrabel should know by now that getting his team to work like the well-oiled machine he wants will take time. Maye will need to step up and take control of the offense, becoming the player New England needs him to be. Vrabel will need to work quickly to bring his young team up to speed. More time working out where mistakes were made will go a long way to keeping them in the season.
The Raiders can be pleased that they chose to have Smith as their quarterback. Las Vegas’ defense had 17 pressures in the victory, with Maxx Crosby looking pretty good with a sack and two quarterback hits. Overall, it’s not a bad game for the Raiders. Carroll will need to get Smith even more focused and continue to work with his defense. They appear to be finally prepared to fight for something in the AFC West, and as a result, fans couldn’t be happier.
Main Image Credit:
Embed from Getty Images
