The New England Patriots opened their Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders with a bang, marching 79 yards in only five plays to take a 7-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Drake Maye and his men capped the series with a 35-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas, a play that also was exemplary for much of the game. Maye was able to operate from as clean a pocket as you will find on a third down: from snap to release, 4.5 seconds passed, allowing him to find Douglas wide open
behind the Raiders secondary.
“I’m back there, credit the offensive line, eating a ham sandwich. I’ve got all day back there,” said Maye.
Maye could have had a lot of ham sandwiches on Sunday. The Patriots quarterback was pressured on a season-low 34% of his dropbacks in his team’s 45-17 victory, and sacked just once all day.
That marked a drastic improvement from the last time Maye and company went up against the Raiders, on opening weekend 2025. The pressure rate that day was 40% and the young passer was taken down four times.
Stalwart edge Maxx Crosby was a particular problem that day, registering seven disruptions and a sack. This time around, he was held to five pressures and failed to bring Maye down once — still solid production but a far cry from the game-wrecking potential he has shown throughout his career and back in 2025.
That was the direct result of New England investing resources in slowing Crosby down and preventing him from having the same impact he had last season.
“Hell of a football player ever since he’s touched this field, ever since he’s gotten to this league,” said right tackle Morgan Moses. “My hat goes off to him because you know it’s a battle. It’s going to be a 60-minute battle. Doesn’t matter what the score is, he’s going to rush the passer. That’s a guy that, obviously you have to detail throughout the week and understand where he’s going to be at.
“Just a heck of a player,” added tight end Hunter Henry. “We have a ton of respect for him and all he’s done in this league, and this year. Know he can wreck a game pretty fast, so I’m over there a lot chipping and throwing some extra jabs to help out. The offensive line does a great job.”
Morgan Moses in particular saw a lot of Crosby throughout the game, on whose side Crosby aligned for most of the game.
“He’s on the right a lot against Morgan, and Morgan does a great job,” said Henry. “A guy that I love going to work with, is a lot of fun to compete with, has done it in this league for a long time, and have a ton of respect for. It was kind of a team effort to take care of that guy.”
Moses, who was questionable with a foot injury heading into the contest, echoed his teammates thoughts: it was indeed a collective effort that helped neutralize Crosby and the rest of the Raiders’ pass rush.
“It takes all 11. It’s not just one person. It takes the quarterback to get the ball out. It takes the receivers running the routes. It takes six or seven guys in protection to help out,” he said.
“When we are connected and we do it together, this is what it looks like.”
