Drake Maye's four touchdown passes lead Patriots to 45-17 win over Raiders
Drake Maye went 26 of 34 with four touchdown passes and no interceptions, and Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut late for Las Vegas.
New England piled up 536 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders in the 45-17 win, their most in a game since Mike Vrabel became head coach in 2025, per NBC Boston.
How the score built
A crowd of 64,628 watched New England outscore Las Vegas in every quarter: 14-7 in the first, 7-0 in the second, 14-3 in the third and 10-7 in the fourth. The Patriots led 21-7 at half. The third quarter was their biggest by margin at 11 points, and the fourth was the closest at three, which adds up to the 28-point final margin.
The numbers behind the margin
| Stat | Patriots | Raiders |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 536 | 306 |
| Plays | 66 | 57 |
| Yards per play | 8.1 | 5.4 |
| Passing yards | 371 | 268 |
| Rushing yards | 165 | 38 |
| First downs | 29 | 16 |
| Third-down conversions | 6-12 | 5-13 |
| Red zone (made-attempts) | 4-5 | 2-3 |
| Time of possession | 34:27 | 25:33 |
| Sacks taken (yards lost) | 1-3 | 3-23 |
| Penalties (number-yards) | 12-116 | 8-101 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
The running game was where the gap opened: 5.3 yards a carry for New England against 2.1 for Las Vegas.
Standout performers
Maye posted a 96.0 QBR and a 150.9 passer rating. He also carried seven times for 25 yards and a touchdown. NBC Boston quotes him after the game: "Coach McDaniels, it was beautiful."
Kyle Williams caught three passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, a career high according to NBC Boston, and called it "Definitely a confidence booster." DeMario Douglas added four catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Henry had three catches for 44 yards and a score, a lob from Maye before half time, Yahoo Sports reports.
On defence, Elijah Ponder recorded two sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Yahoo Sports reports that he strip-sacked Kirk Cousins before half time, and that the Patriots played without their top two cornerbacks.
Debuts and injuries
Las Vegas also had a debut to follow. Bleacher Report reports that No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut in place of Cousins, completing six of eight passes for 48 yards. Cousins went 19 of 28 for 243 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked three times. Bleacher Report adds that Brock Bowers led the Raiders with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
NBC Boston reports that left tackle Will Campbell (knee) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) left the game injured, and that cornerback Charles Woods (shoulder) was also hurt. Yahoo Sports reports that Kevin Byard and Kindle Vildor forced a third-quarter fumble from Bowers, which Craig Woodson recovered.
What it means for the table
The win moved New England to 3-2, per Bleacher Report, and dropped Las Vegas to 3-2.
Recent results show the scale of the swing. New England beat Buffalo 29-26 on 4 October after a 6-35 loss at Jacksonville on 27 September, so across those two games it has scored 35 points and allowed 61. Las Vegas lost 27-30 at home to Kansas City on 4 October, after a 35-27 win at New Orleans on 27 September, and has scored 62 and allowed 57 over the same span.