FOXBORO - Sunday at Gillette Stadium had the feel of a full Patriots event before the ball was even kicked. New England was honoring its 2001 Super Bowl team on its 25th anniversary, Adam Vinatieri was getting his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring ceremony, and by the end of the afternoon the Patriots had added their own celebratory note: a 45-17 demolition of the Raiders that pushed them into a winning record for the first time in 2026.
The headline belonged to Drake Maye. With a limited receiver group and a defense that kept the pressure coming, Maye put together one of the cleanest, loudest performances of his young career, steering six scoring drives and piling up 399 total yards, including 374 through the air.
The Patriots started the day with only four active wide receivers - Romeo Doubs, Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams and DeMario Douglas - and the group wasted no time making its presence felt. Douglas opened the scoring less than four minutes in, slipping free on a post from the left slot for a 35-yard touchdown after Maye had all kinds of time against a four-man rush. The drive was helped along by a long defensive pass interference penalty, and Douglas would find the end zone again late in the fourth quarter.
The response from the Raiders was quick. Kirk Cousins hit Brock Bowers to tie the game on the next possession, but New England answered with a pair of fourth-down conversions, one to Douglas and another to Hunter Henry, to reclaim control. Rhamondre Stevenson finished that march with a five-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 lead, and the score also pushed him into a notable spot in team history, as the eighth player in franchise history to reach 30-plus rushing touchdowns in his Patriots career.
Maye kept picking on the sideline routes, too. He threw in Doubs’ direction five times, all of them beyond the sticks, and Doubs finished with one catch for 16 yards.
Still, his role was clear: he was the downfield target New England kept testing. On the Patriots’ first drive, Doubs drew a 24-yard defensive pass interference penalty from Eric Stokes.
On the next drive, Stokes was flagged again, this time for 27 yards. On the third drive, Doubs had the ball knocked away by Darien Porter.
The Patriots’ offense took a hit as the afternoon wore on. Fullback Reggie Gilliam and receiver Mack Hollins were already on injured reserve after the Buffalo win, and in the first half against Las Vegas, New England lost more pieces.
TreVeyon Henderson left after multiple touches on the Patriots’ third drive, which also featured a trick play in which Chism threw to Henderson. Henderson was later ruled out with an ankle injury.
On that same drive, left tackle Will Campbell went down holding his right knee and did not return after leaving for the locker room, with rookie Caleb Lomu taking over.
The injury list grew again later. Charles Woods, who had been limited in practice with a shoulder issue, made a strong stop on a Bowers screen but stayed down afterward, went to the blue medical tent and never came back. Dre’Mont Jones and Cory Durden also left after being checked on the field.
When Henderson was gone, Corey Kiner became the next man up in the backfield, and his day got off to a rough start. On his first carry, Adam Butler punched the ball loose, giving Las Vegas excellent field position.
The Raiders couldn’t cash it in, though, as Matt Gay hit the left upright on a 49-yard field goal attempt. Kiner settled in enough to finish with a few more carries, including a 32-yard run in garbage time, and Hunter Henry’s 11-yard touchdown helped New England take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
The Patriots’ pass rush made sure the Raiders never really found a second gear. Elijah Ponder, who entered the game leading the team with 2.5 sacks, added two more and finished with his first multi-sack game as a pro.
One of those takedowns was a strip-sack to end the first half. His work off the edge helped hold Las Vegas to just seven points after its opening drive.
The second half turned into a showcase for the Patriots’ depth and Maye’s command. After Williams and Hezekiah Masses traded pass interference penalties, Maye went deep again and found Williams down the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown. That was the fourth Patriots touchdown of the day.
Maye wasn’t done. After a Gay field goal, he guided another sharp drive, hitting Eli Raridon for a big gain, escaping pressure with his legs and then keeping the ball on a quarterback sweep for a three-yard rushing score.
Williams later added a 49-yard catch late in the third quarter on a drive that ended with an Andy Borregales field goal. The Raiders then put first overall pick Fernando Mendoza in for his NFL debut with the game already out of hand.
By the time it was over, Maye had gone 23-of-31 and posted a 144.6 rating. He logged back-to-back games with at least three touchdown passes for the first time in his career, and he became the first Patriots quarterback to do that since Tom Brady in 2018. It was also the second time in his career he topped 300 passing yards, and his 374 through the air were second only to the 380 he had in Baltimore a season ago.
Now up to eight total touchdowns this season and seven over his last two games, Maye looked every bit like the player New England had been waiting for.
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