Neither the New England Patriots nor the Las Vegas Raiders were particularly pleased with how their 2024 seasons went, to a point where both franchises opted to fire their head coaches in January. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, their new lead men — Mike Vrabel and Pete Carroll — will get their first chance to show why they were picked by the two respective clubs to head the rebuilding efforts.
With the Raiders as much a blank canvas as the Patriots, we reached out to Matt Holder of Pats Pulpit’s sister site
Silver and Black Pride — the SB Nation community for all things Raiders. Here is what he told us about the upcoming game and what to expect from New England’s Week 1 opponent.
1. Both the Patriots and the Raiders are under new leadership this season. How has Pete Carroll changed the culture in Las Vegas early?
ComPETE!
Carroll has made it pretty clear that he wants competition at every position, regardless of what players have done in the past. That’s been a consistent theme of his coaching style everywhere he’s been. For example, Jakorian Bennett was a starting cornerback last year but was reportedly struggling to pick up the new system and was working with the third team defense before getting traded to the Eagles. Also, Jackson Powers-Johnson was considered a shoo-in to start this season after a strong rookie year, but he was asked to switch to right guard and had to earn his spot by beating out Alex Cappa in training camp.
Somewhat surprisingly for a soon-to-be 74-year-old, Carroll has also brought in a new energy to Las Vegas. That goes hand-in-hand with the compete mantra. Additionally, Carroll has made it no secret that he wants to win right away and has brought up the fact that he’s won 10 games several times during his career. We’ll see if this year’s Raiders have enough talent to make that happen.
2. Have defenses had success putting cornerbacks on Brock Bowers and treating him like a wide receiver? Which receiver(s) should New England worry about if they manage to keep a lid on Bowers?
The Denver Broncos were the first team to do that, putting Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II on Bowers. That worked pretty well for the Broncos, as they were one of the few teams that could slow him down during his historic rookie season. Other teams tried to mimic that strategy but had mixed results. It works if you have a top-tier talent at corner like Surtain; however, Bowers is big and athletic enough to beat run-of-the-mill corners.
At wide receiver, the guy to worry about is someone Pats fans should know well: Jakobi Meyers. He’s coming off a career year with his first 1,000-yard campaign and has become a great route runner over the last few seasons. Given the upgrade at quarterback, going from Gardner Minshew/Aidan O’Connell to Geno Smith, there’s plenty of reason to believe Meyers can pick up where he left off.
One up-and-comer who could make an impact out wide is Tre Tucker. He’s heading into year three and took tremendous steps from his rookie year to last season. Also, Tucker finally has a quarterback who can take advantage of his speed, so the 2023 third-round pick is my pick to be the Raiders’ breakout player this year.
3. Has Ashton Jeanty lived up to expectations early? What do you think is the best strategy for slowing him down?
So far, Jeanty has been as-advertised and maybe even better. Everyone knows he’s a good runner after rushing for over 2,000 yards at Boise State last season, but Jeanty also showed improved route running during training camp to potentially make an impact in the passing game this year.
As far as slowing the rookie down, that’s tough to say right now since this will be his first real NFL game. But playing with a lead early in the game to take the ball out of his hands should be a point of emphasis for New England’s coaching staff.
4. How has the defensive line looked outside of game-wrecker Maxx Crosby? Has his gravity allowed anyone else to shine?
Losing Christian Wilkins at the beginning of training camp was a big blow to the Raiders’ defensive line, leaving the unit with more questions outside of Crosby. Former Patriot Adam Butler played pretty well last season and took a step toward becoming a well-rounded player rather than a situational pass-rusher. But the list of defensive linemen who have a career year at 30 years old and continue to maintain that level of play is pretty short.
Malcolm Koonce is another guy to keep an eye on. Koonce had a strong finish to the 2023 campaign, racking up eight sacks in the Raiders’ last nine games, making him a very intriguing player heading into last season. However, a torn ACL a week before the season opener killed that momentum. So, it will be interesting to see if Koonce can bounce back and prove to be a quality second edge-rusher opposite Crosby.
5. The Patriots are listed as a 2.5-point favorites at home. What went right if they win? What went wrong if they lost?
New England wins if rookie Will Campbell and well-tenured veteran Morgan Moses can keep Koonce and Crosby in check, while Drake Maye takes advantage of Las Vegas’ young secondary. Defensively, it’s all about the trenches with the Patriots’ new-look defensive line. The Raiders’ offensive line returns all five starters from the second half of last season, but the unit is still pretty young and growing. The entire right side, including center Jordan Meredith, all have less than a full season’s worth of starts as Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze are entering just their second seasons in the NFL and didn’t begin last year as first-stringers.
Those are my main keys to the game, so it’d be the opposite if the Pats lose.
