This Sunday the 3-1 Raiders head to New England to face the 2-2 Patriots. This will be a second-straight exciting matchup for the Raiders after the hard-fought game against the Chiefs last week. The Patriots pulled out of their funk last week against the Bills, making this another much-anticipated matchup.
Raiders causes for concern vs Patriots
1. Drake Maye finding his stroke
After a rough start to the season, last week Drake Maye found his stroke. He tore up the undefeated Buffalo Bills to the tune of 269 yards passing with three touchdowns to be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. If that performance was a sign of things to come, the Raiders could be in trouble.
2. Weak WR corps down another starter
It looks like a second straight week of bad news for the Raiders already struggling wide receiver corps. A week after losing Jack Bech to injured reserve,
they lost Jalen Nailor to a concussion that at this point appears like it will cause him to miss the game.
The team could get second-year receiver Dont’e Thornton back. But considering he had just ten catches all of last season and in the brief glimpses we saw of him this offseason he didn’t look like he had improved on his deficiencies as a route runner and deep ball threat, his return may not really move the needle.
3. Run game stuck in the blocks
The Raiders currently have the worst run game in the league in terms of yards per carry. That’s right, dead last. They average just 3.1 yards per carry this season. Former sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty has been hobbled by an ankle injury that has clearly affected his agility. And as of Thursday’s injury report, he was downgraded to limited because of it. So…yeah, not looking good there.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: 3 causes for concern for Raiders Week 5 vs Patriots
