The Raiders have every reason to respect what they’re walking into when they face the Patriots on Sunday.
Las Vegas is 3-1 and feeling decent despite the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but New England’s 2-2 record doesn’t tell the whole story. Mike Vrabel’s group has already shown enough to make one thing clear: this is not the kind of team the Raiders can brush aside.
That message got louder last week, when the Patriots went into Buffalo and knocked off a previously unbeaten Bills team, 29-26. It was the kind of road win that changes the conversation fast. The run game got going, Drake Maye looked much more like the quarterback who finished as the runner-up for the 2025 NFL MVP award, and New England pulled it off without star defenders Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore.
For a team that opened the year with a national-stage loss to the Sam Darnold-less Seattle Seahawks, that mattered. Maye had looked off through the first three games, and New England’s reputation took hits along the way. The Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in Week 2, but that didn’t erase the uglier storylines, especially after a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 made plenty of people write them off.
The problem for anyone eager to do that is simple: this looks a lot like what happened last season.
New England also stumbled out of the gate in 2025. After losing to the Raiders in the opener, they bounced back against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, then dropped to 1-2 after losing to the Steelers. But the Patriots turned it around in a hurry, rolling past the eventual NFC South champion Carolina Panthers 42-13 in Week 4 before beating the Bills to start a winning streak that lasted until after their Week 14 bye.
Right now, the 2026 Patriots are tracing a similar line. They’ve had the early loss, the bounce-back, the setback that pushed them to 1-2, and then the Week 4 response. That’s why the Raiders can’t treat this as anything close to a soft landing spot.
Las Vegas is catching New England at a time when the Patriots appear to be settling in, and the combination of talent, coaching and urgency makes them a dangerous opponent. If the pattern from last season keeps holding, the Raiders could be in trouble.
In Other News...
Raiders Suddenly Face A Huge Week 5 Ashton Jeanty Concern
A midweek injury wrinkle has put Ashton Jeantys status in question as the Raiders get ready to face the Patriots. The rookie running back has been one of Las Vegas most important offensive pieces this season, which is why any hint of missed time lands hard for a team trying to steady itself heading into another AFC matchup.
Jeanty was added to the injury report on Thursday, and the concern is not just one sore spot but a pair of them. With Mike Washington Jr. expected to absorb a bigger workload if Jeanty cant go, the Raiders suddenly have a backfield situation worth watching closely as the week moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Have A Receiver Problem Kubiak Can't Ignore
The Raiders are suddenly staring at a thinner receiver room than they expected, and the timing could hardly be worse. Jalen Nailor is in concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit, while Jack Bech is already on injured reserve with a broken forearm, leaving head coach Klint Kubiak with an obvious depth issue to manage as the season moves forward.
Kubiak said all options will be considered to bolster the group, which is exactly the kind of language that tends to set off the trade and signing chatter around this time of year. Jerry Jeudy, Tory Horton and K.J. Osborn have all surfaced as possible fits, and the Raiders now have to decide whether this is a short-term patch job or the start of a more significant reshaping of the passing-game depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Ashton Jeanty Is Changing A Key Part Of The Raiders Offense
Ashton Jeantys second NFL season has brought a noticeably different job description in Las Vegas, and it has given the Raiders another layer on offense under Klint Kubiak. More often than not, Jeanty is showing up as a pass-catching threat instead of simply the back finishing runs, and that change has made him a more central piece of how the Raiders are moving the ball while they sit at 3-1.
The fit has not been perfect, though, and both Jeanty and Kubiak have been open about where there is still room to grow. The rushing game has had its stretches of struggle, and Jeanty has pointed to pass protection and sharper reads as parts of his own game he wants to clean up as the Raiders try to build on an encouraging start. [Read more 🡒]