Drake Maye gave New England exactly the kind of jolt it had been waiting for in the Patriots’ 29-26 upset over Buffalo. He threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, added 54 yards on the ground, and came through with several key plays when the game tightened late.
But the real story from that win was bigger than Maye alone. New England’s defense changed its approach against Josh Allen, leaning away from man coverage, mixing up its looks, and keeping more eyes on the quarterback instead of chasing receivers all over the field. That shift helped the Patriots hold down one of the league’s most dangerous offenses.
Even so, one strong performance doesn’t wipe away what came before it. Maye had entered the Buffalo game with seven interceptions and only one touchdown through three games, and he still put another interception and a lost fumble on the board in the upset.
The difference was how he handled the bumps. He kept attacking without getting overly cautious, and New England looked far more comfortable letting him operate.
Now comes the next test: the Raiders, who bring a defense that has already outperformed its preseason billing. Las Vegas is 3-1, even after giving up 30 points to Kansas City in Week 4, and the numbers tell the story.
The Raiders have 12 sacks through four games and a positive turnover differential, while their pass defense ranks among the best in the league. Kansas City found some explosive plays in the second half once the game opened up, but Las Vegas has consistently made quarterbacks uncomfortable without needing to lean heavily on blitzes.
Maxx Crosby sits at the center of that pressure. He only had half a sack against the Chiefs, but he still finished with five quarterback hits and kept affecting the timing of the passing game.
That matters for New England, which has already allowed 10 sacks this season. Keeping Maye upright will be a major issue on Sunday afternoon.
The encouraging part for the Patriots is that Buffalo showed Maye can function without a clean pocket on every snap. His 54 rushing yards were more than window dressing.
They came from his ability to escape pressure, reset plays, and make the defense account for him everywhere. That kind of mobility should matter against a Raiders defense built to hurry the quarterback into mistakes.
And mistakes are exactly what Las Vegas has been turning into takeaways. The Raiders forced five turnovers in their first two games, then added four more in their Week 3 comeback against New Orleans.
That’s the danger for Maye, who has already shown this September that he can get too aggressive when plays start breaking down. Sometimes the better answer is to throw it away, check it down, or eat the sack instead of trying to save the drive.
That’s why this matchup is about more than whether Maye can stack another big passing line. It’s about whether the Buffalo game was the start of something cleaner and more controlled. If it was, it should show up in the choices he makes when Crosby starts collapsing the pocket.
New England also doesn’t need to turn this into another shootout. The Raiders are allowing 134.5 rushing yards per game, which opens a clear path for the Patriots to attack on the ground and avoid living in third-and-long. That kind of balance would keep Las Vegas from turning every obvious passing down into a Crosby-versus-the-line showdown.
Maye threw 37 passes against Buffalo because the game demanded it, but the Patriots would rather avoid that script. A steadier run game, more play-action, and fewer obvious passing situations would let New England lean on the growing number of reliable targets around him.
Romeo Doubs caught two touchdowns against Buffalo, Efton Chism III delivered the go-ahead score with a one-handed grab, and Hunter Henry made a vital late first-down catch that helped keep the ball out of Allen’s hands. That kind of spread-out production matters against a defense that can disguise its intentions after the snap.
So the question isn’t whether Maye can repeat 269 yards and three touchdowns. It’s whether he can keep the poise from that game while trimming the reckless plays that have marked his start.
A calmer 230-yard outing, two touchdowns, a few useful scrambles, and far fewer negative snaps would tell New England plenty. Against a Raiders defense that has already shown it can punish sloppy football, that may be the better measuring stick.
In Other News...
Maxx Crosby Just Took The Mahomes Rivalry Somewhere Personal
Maxx Crosby has never been shy about the Patrick Mahomes matchup, but he took the familiar Raiders-Chiefs edge in a more personal direction during an episode of his podcast, The Rush. Crosby talked about the ongoing physical and psychological chess match he and Mahomes seem to play every time they line up across from each other, a rivalry built as much on stubbornness and feel as it is on pass-rush production.
Crosby also pointed to one of the stranger details of the matchup, saying Mahomes makes unusual vocal sounds when he gets tackled. It is the kind of observation that only comes from repeated collisions and plenty of time spent trying to get inside an opponents head, and Crosby has done plenty of both, piling up 6.5 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures against Mahomes in his career. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Loss Put A Few Veterans On Notice Fast
The Raiders first game of the 2026 season against the Chiefs offered an early look at where the roster already looks solid and where the margin for error is thin. A few veterans came out of the opener with some encouragement attached to their names, including Spencer Burford, who held up better in pass protection, while the team also got reminders that one play can tilt a game fast in a division matchup.
Kwity Paye did not make much of an imprint on the defensive side, and Dareke Youngs fumble on a kickoff return became the kind of mistake that can swing momentum before a team has settled in. In a loss that doubled as an evaluation game, the Raiders found enough positives to keep building on, but the individual letdowns also made clear which players will have to answer quickly the next time they take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Catch A Break As Patriots Defense Enters Week 5 Shorthanded
The Raiders Week 5 prep got a little more interesting when the Patriots opened the week with a long injury list on defense, including eight players who were absent from the first practice. For a Las Vegas offense looking to build momentum, the timing matters, because New Englands depth chart is already being tested before the game even gets into full swing.
Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore were among the most notable names, with Gonzalez expected to remain out and Barmore possibly limited to some activities. The Patriots do have a few players on injured reserve who are eligible to return, but coach Mike Vrabel said it does not sound like any of them are likely to be activated this week, leaving the Raiders with a clearer path to attack a defense that may be piecing things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]