How the Patriots and Raiders have changed since their last meeting

The New England Patriots last met with the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 27, 2020. New England took care of business with a 36-20 win in Gillette Stadium.

Since that contest, both rosters have seen some serious turnover. Let’s take a look at what is the same and what is new.

Patriots Changes

The following 20 players were on New England’s 53-man roster in 2020 who are still on the active roster in 2022.

RB Damien Harris, WR Jakobi Meyers, OT Isaiah Wynn, OL Michael Onwenu, C David Andrews, OL James Ferentz, DL Deatrich Wise Jr., DL Lawrence Guy, DT Carl Davis, LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, OLB Josh Uche, OLB Anfernee Jennings, CB Myles Bryant, CB Jonathan Jones, S Devin McCourty, S Kyle Dugger, S Adrian Phillips, ST Matthew Slater, K Nick Folk, LS Joe Cardona

Offense: The starter back in 2020 was Cam Newton who was just in the third game of his Patriots career. Now, Mac Jones will be at the helm for New England in his first game against Las Vegas outside of the preseason.

Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson are the primary back in this offense, but they are both currently dealing with injuries. If they are unable to go rookies Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr. will see a majority of the work. Back in 2020, the position was led by Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead who combined to gain 166 of the Patriots’ 250 rushing yards.

Jakobi Meyers is the lone wide receiver who is back from the 2020 clash, and he did not play much back then. Nelson Agholor was on the other side of things in the last meeting and may have a big role in this game as Meyers and DeVante Parker are both dealing with injuries. The two new tight ends are Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, who have replaced the likes of Ryan Izzo, Devin Asiasi and the then-inactive Dalton Keene.

The offensive line returns three starters in Isaiah Wynn, David Andrews and Michael Onwenu as well as backup James Ferentz. Trent Brown was with the Raiders at this time and returns for this matchup (he was inactive in Week 3 2020). Cole Strange will be the starting left guard in his first game against the Ravens; he will replace Joe Thuney, while Onwenu will replace Shaq Mason. If Wynn is unable to go, Conor McDermott will likely have the starting right tackle duties.

Defense: The defense returns 11 players, including five guys who were starters back for that 2020 matchup. Deatrich Wise Jr., who scored a touchdown two years ago, and Lawrence Guy will continue to play prominent roles up front. No longer with the team are Adam Butler, Byron Cowart and Nick Thurman.

The linebacker room has some holdovers with Ja’Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings. Matthew Judon was a Raven at this time in 2020, and he will now be starting on the outside against the Raiders. Jahlani Tavai or Raekwon McMillan will see significant work in this one — neither was in New England for the last matchup. Instead, the Patriots relied on the likes of Terez Hall, Chase Winovich and John Simon.

The secondary features several players who played in the most recent matchup between those two teams. Safeties Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips all will play significant roles once again in this one, as will cornerbacks Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant. They will help replace since-departed starters Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson and Jason McCourty.

Newcomers Jalen Mills and Jack Jones will see snaps at corner this time around if they are able to suit up. Marcus Jones would be the next guy up in line with potential for some Shaun Wade snaps as well. Jabrill Peppers figures to play a role in this game as well, taking over Terrence Brooks’ former role as the fourth safety.

Special Teams: Matthew Slater returns as the leader of the unit. Justin Bethel was replaced by Brenden Schooler, while fellow rookie DeMarcus Mitchell has also made an impact on the unit and will be playing Las Vegas for the first time. Nick Folk will be kicking again, and Jake Bailey is on IR so Michael Palardy will handle the punting duties; Joe Cardona is still doing the long-snapping for New England.

Coaching: The Patriots’ coaching staff is only somewhat similar compared to what it was in 2020. Bill Belichick returns as the head coach and all of the defensive coaches are the exact same. Offensively, however, Josh McDaniels and Ivan Fears are out, and Matt Patricia has taken over as the offensive line coach and play caller. Joe Judge was coaching the New York Giants in 2020 and now he is the quarterbacks coach and an offensive assistant. Vinnie Sunseri has moved over to coaching the running backs, replacing Fears.

Raiders Changes

These 10 players were on Las Vegas’ 53-man roster in the last matchup and are still on the roster now:

QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, TE Foster Moreau, T Kolton Miller, DE Clelin Ferrell, DE Maxx Crosby, CB Amik Robertson, K Daniel Carlson, P A.J. Cole III, LS Trent Sieg

Offense: Derek Carr remains as the starting quarterback of this Las Vegas team. Jarrett Stidham is his backup instead of Nate Peterman this time around.

Josh Jacobs is also still the primary running back for this team; he is having a career season and posted 71 rushing yards on 16 attempts in 2020. Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden will spell him at time opposed to Devante Booker and Jalen Richard. Jakob Johnson replaces Alec Ingold as the Las Vegas fullback.

While the Raiders have no wide receivers on their active roster from that game two years ago, one might get activated before Sunday: Hunter Renfrow recently was designated to return from injured reserve. He had six catches for 84 yards the last time he played the Patriots. Davante Adams is the primary man on the outside with Mack Hollins opposite of him. Keelan Cole may also see some reps at wide receiver in this game. They replace Agholor and Bryan Edwards.

Darren Waller is in the exact same spot as Renfrow and might come off IR as early as this week. If he needs another week Foster Moreau — who was part of the 2020 game — will be the starting tight end.

The offense line has pretty much completely changed with left Kolton Miller as the only returning player. Dylan Parham and Andre James will be at left guard and center, respectively. Alex Bars will be at right guard with 2020 Patriot Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle. These four new starters replace John Simpson, Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Denzelle Good.

Defense: The defense is the part of the Raiders that has changed the most, but they do retain their star pass rusher off the edge, Maxx Crosby. Chandler Jones will be on the other side of him as they form a dynamic pass rush. Clelin Ferrell will also rotate in for pass-rush purposes. The two starting defensive tackles are now Andrew Billings and Bilal Nichols with Kyle Peko rotating in. Back in 2020, those roles were filled by Johnathan Hankins and Maliek Collins.

The starting linebackers for the Raiders team now are Luke Masterson, Denzel Perryman and Darien Butler. They take over for Corey Littleton, Nicholas Morrow and current Patriot Raekwon McMillan.

The cornerbacks have been inconsistent all season as Nate Hobbs and Rock Ya-Sin are the primary starters. Amik Robertson will also see some action as the nickel back. This group is not much better than its 2020 version led by Damon Arnette, Trayvon Mullen and Daryl Worley.

Tre’Von Moehrig and former Patriot Duron Harmon are the starting safeties. They replace Erik Harris, Jonathan Abram and Jeff Heath from two years ago.

Special Teams: The special teams unit is pretty much the same as kicker Daniel Carlson, punter A.J. Cole III and long snapper Trent Sieg all return. Brandon Bolden is a huge piece of this unit now a days along with other primary backups for the Raiders.

Coaching: Josh McDaniels, who was with New England in 2020, is now the team’s head coach. His offensive and defensive coordinators are Mick Lombardi and Patrick Graham, respectively. Tom McMahon is the special teams coordinator and this may be the team's strongest unit.

This is a major change from former head coach Jon Gruden, who was fired last year. Greg Olson and the combination of Rod Marinelli and Paul Guenther have been replaced as coordinators. The former special teams coordinator was Rich Bisaccia.