The New England Patriots (7-7) lost in crushing fashion to the Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) on Sunday. Here’s who caught the eye for better, and for worse.
Loser: QB Mac Jones. It was a rough game from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones on Sunday. Despite taking on a bottom-five defense and given plenty of time to operate throughout the night, Jones finished 13-of-31 for just 112 yards. He missed several throws downfield, especially in the first half, and finished with a completion percentage over expected of -20.4. He did make a few nice throws in the second half, but ultimately was not great.
Winner: DB Kyle Dugger. With the Patriots in a 14-point hole, Kyle Dugger made the play of the day for New England to get the game back in reach. On Vegas’ opening drive of the second half, Dugger sniffed out the Raiders call from his film study and impressively jumped the pass and took it to the house for six.
Dugger out of nowhere
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 18, 2022
: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/chgFFgX1FD
Loser: Coaching. Another week, another game full of mistakes for the Patriots. They botched an entire red area sequence in which they needed just two yards as they appeared to be severely overthinking things. The defensive approach on the final drive seemed to let the Raiders walk down the field, and the staff surely should shoulder some of the blame for whatever happened on the final play. New England does not play like a well-coached team.
Loser: Special Teams. New England’s special teams gave up one of the bigger plays from Sunday. Just before the first half concluded, a miscommunication resulted in a blocked punt setting up a Vegas touchdown. They struggled covering kickoff at well at times even with one big return being negated due to a Raiders penalty. They could use Jake Bailey back for those duties.
Winner: RB Rhamondre Stevenson. While he did play a role in the final play disaster, Stevenson was the engine for New England’s offense Sunday. Stevenson totaled 172 rushing yards on 19 carries which included a 34-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Honorable mentions: On the positive side, New England’s offensive line held up well against the Raiders’ top pass rushing duo. They helped pave the way for over 200 rushing yards with a 55 percent success rate and gave Mac Jones a clean pocket to operate out of for most of the night.
Defensively, the unit impressed against Derek Carr and Co. Marcus Jones played a big role in limiting DeVante Adams to just four catches for 28 yards. Josh Uche also stayed hot by recording a half-sack — which he split with Christian Barmore.
Negatively, the pass rush did disappear when it most mattered on Vegas’ final drive of the game. And whoever deserved the blame for what occurred next — coaching staff, Stevenson, Jakobi Meyers — certainly is the biggest loser from Sunday.
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