Mike Vrabel’s first game as New England Patriots head coach did not go as planned. The team lost its regular season opener on Sunday 20-13 to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
Winners
WR Kayshon Boutte: As he has been this summer, Boutte served as the Patriots top X-receiver on Sunday and led the unit with 58 total snaps (even after missing the end of one drive after spending time in the blue medical tent). Boutte was New England’s best downfield
threat leading the way with an average depth of target of 17.4 yards en route to a 103-yard game. He did good work along the sideline and over the middle of the field as his eight targets tied for a team-high.
ED Harold Landry and DT Milton Williams: The Patriots two new pass rushers led the charge up front as Geno Smith was under pressure on 32.5 percent of his drop backs. Landry led the way with 2.5 sacks and seven pressures (25 percent pressure rate) while Williams added seven pressures of his own (23.3 percent pressure rate). The duo worked in tandem to tally one of Landry’s sacks on a well-executed T/E stunt and combined for five run stuffs on the ground.
“He’s just a competitor. He’s been there and done that,” Williams said of Landry. “Just to see him out there and executing at the D-line is big for us and it’s going to continue that way.”
Losers
QB Drake Maye: Maye’s first pass of the afternoon saw him sail a throw over the head of DeMario Douglas on third-down. It set the stage for the afternoon as the second-year quarterback had several errant throws — including high misses to Hunter Henry and later to Douglas in the end zone. Against a zone-heavy defense that forced Maye into largely operating underneath, the inconsistencies accuracy wise made it difficult for New England to methodically work down the field.
There were strong moments — highlighted by a perfectly placed touchdown to Douglas and a back-shoulder seam to Hunter Henry — Maye was not able to elevate the unit enough throughout Sunday, while he also threw an interception (which he was hit on) and put two balls on the ground.
Pass defense: A common theme from coaches and players post game was the amount of “X-plays” allowed on defense. For the second-straight year, Geno Smith burned the Patriots pass defense throwing for 362 yards which included nine passing plays of 20+ yards. Five of those came against pressure as Smith stood tall against New England’s all-out pressure looks from the jump as he connected with Tre Tucker on a 26-yard touchdown with seven rushers coming at him.
Special teams: It was a strong summer for Jeremy Springer’s unit, but the success did not exactly translate into the regular season opener. Besides two of Dylan Laube’s kick returns going over 30 yards, rookie kicker Andy Borregales pushed his first field goal attempt wide right from 40 yards out before rebounding with a 35- and 44-yard make.
Punter Bryce Baringer was then called out by Vrabel post game following a 21-yard out of bounds punt on fourth-and-10 with 4:53 remaining (which Vrabel likely should have gone for, anyway).
Other performances of note
- Mixed results for New England’s new-look offensive line. While the total pressure rate dipped under 30 percent, Maxx Crosby applied pressure on Maye’s interception and the ground game struggled to find much movement (35 percent success rate, 3.3 yards per carry). As for the rookies, Will Campbell had two false starts and was on scene for a strip sack (which he recovered) while Jared Wilson was flagged for a hold.
- Veteran receiver additions: Stefon Diggs hauled in six of his seven targets for 57 yards while Mack Hollins caught just one pass for three yards.
- Rookie receiver Kyle Williams (seven snaps) caught his lone target on the final drive. More of Williams’ speed and explosiveness would be a welcomed addition moving forward.
- Carlton Davis had a pass breakup on Brock Bowers that resulted in Jaylinn Hawkins’ interception. Davis then drove downfield to later break up a 3rd-and-20 dig route, but did allow Dont’e Thornton to beat him downfield on the Raiders’ final possession.
- As a whole, there were 11 missed tackles including three apiece from Christian Elliss and Robert Spillane. Missed tackles also saw a run stuff turn into a touchdown for Ashton Jeanty.
