The Pete Carroll era in Las Vegas is off to the perfect start.
The Raiders, thanks to a very solid outing from Geno Smith, held on to beat the New England Patriots 20-13 on the road on Sunday afternoon. It marked the first win for Carroll since he took over in Las Vegas, and handed new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel his first loss at Gillette Stadium.
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The Raiders wasted no time on Sunday, and scored on their opening drive after Smith found a wide open Tre Tucker for a 26-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
Though the Patriots ended up taking a three-point lead at the break, they completely stalled out in the second half. Former Boise State star Ashton Jeanty scored his first career NFL touchdown in the third quarter when he punched in a three-yard score, and then Daniel Carlson drilled a pair of field goals to push their lead to two possessions by the midway point of the third quarter.
Smith’s lone mistake came in the first quarter after his scoring drive. He was trying to find tight end Brock Bowers in triple coverage on the sidelines, but the ball was tipped and immediately intercepted. That led to the Patriots’ lone touchdown of the day.
Bowers had a massive day for the Raiders, too. He had 103 yards on five catches, including a 38-yard grab, on the day. It marked his third 100-yard game of his career, which is tied for the 10th most in NFL history among tight ends in their first two seasons in the league. Bowers, who the Raiders took with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia, had 1,194 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie.
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Bowers went into the medical tent in the second half, however, and was deemed questionable to return with a knee injury. Further specifics of his injury are not yet known.
The Raiders had a chance to seal the win late in the fourth quarter, but their drive stalled out and they had to punt it away. That resulted in one final push from Drake Maye, who quickly marched the Patriots into Raiders territory with a couple of deep passes to Kayshon Boutte. But that run came too late, and they had to settle for a field goal with less than 30 seconds left. Once the Raiders recovered the onside kick attempt, the seven-point win was theirs.
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Maye went 30-of-46 for 287 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss for New England. TreVeyon Henderson led them on the ground, though he had just 27 yards on five carries. Boutte had 103 receiving yards on six catches.
Smith ended up going 24-of-34 for 362 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the win. Jeanty had 38 yards and his touchdown on 19 carries. Jakobi Meyers, who is still waiting on his contract extension with the franchise, had 97 yards on eight catches.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
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