There’s a consensus among the New England Patriots: Everyone could have done better Sunday.The Patriots fell 20-13 to the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium in the season opener. New England was firmly in control in the first half, despite leading just 10-7 at the break. However, they unraveled in the second half by giving up 13 unanswered points.
It isn’t altogether surprising that a Patriots team with an overhauled coaching staff and roster had a bumpy start.
One of those new additions was 2025 No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell, who made his first NFL start Sunday at left tackle. He was among those with a forgettable second half, giving up a pair of sacks and getting whistled for a backbreaking false start on a 4th-and-5.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Campbell’s debut after the game.
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“I think that’s tough right now. I apologize, I’ve got to look at the tape,” Vrabel said, via a team-provided transcript. “Again, I’m sure there’s going to be some good plays, some plays we’d like to have back, that he would like to have back. I think that would go for pretty much everybody. I think there was some good football, just certainly not consistent enough in all three phases. That’s kind of what it looked like for me, and I’ll try to give you a little better answer after looking at the tape.”
Maye finished 30-of-46 for 287 yards in the air with one touchdown and one interception. Though Vrabel said he’d also need to refer to the tape on Maye, he was able to offer more of an initial analysis.
“Again, without looking at the tape, I thought there were some good positive plays and really good command of what we were doing, and then there were times where maybe we or he missed somebody, and we’ll have to see,” Vrabel said. “It’s a challenge playing quarterback in this league. We’ve got to help him out. We have to be more balanced. We have to use our run actions and be able to run the football.
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“It’s hard to turn it into a drop-back passing game in this league. That’s just the facts. When they’re up two scores and they’re in their 3rd down package, we just don’t want to ever live in that world. We all can be better, whether that’s me, the coaching staff, Drake, Will and everybody that you asked about, that’s the attitude that we’re going to take. That’s the belief that we’re going to take. We’re disappointed, but we can’t sit there and hold on to it too long. We’ve got to go on the road and we’ve got to play a division opponent, and we’ve got to embrace moving on. I think that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
