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New England Patriots v Las Vegas Raiders

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Patriots vs. Raiders recap: 21-17 loss sees another comeback attempt fall short

New England falls to 1-5.

Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images

The New England Patriots offense found the end zone twice against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, but could not get the last score they needed. The Patriots got the ball back trailing by two with just over two minutes left in the game, but went backwards as DeVante Parker dropped a ball and Maxx Crosby brought down Mac Jones for a safety.

With their third straight loss, the Patriots fall to 1-5 on the season.

Here’s everything that went down throughout the game.

Final Score: (1-5) Patriots 17 : 21 Raiders (3-3)

Sunday, October 15, 4:05 p.m. ET | Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, NV | Broadcast information | Inactives | Game day roster

First Quarter

The Patriots won the toss and deferred, putting Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders offense on the field to begin Sunday’s contest. Garoppolo got to work with his rookie tight end Michael Mayer who caught the first three passes of the game. A pair of runs by Josh Jacobs helped push Vegas into the red area before a holding penalty set up a third-and-11. New England then got bailed out as DeAndre Carter dropped a ball with room to run. On Daniel Carlson’s field goal attempt, Sam Roberts was flagged for leverage to give the Raiders a fresh set of downs. The Patriots then forced another field goal. [Patriots 0 : 3 Raiders]

Injury update: DE Keion White (head) is questionable to return.

New England’s first two plays of the game featured penalties, before a swing pass was dropped by Rhamondre Stevenson. A third-down handoff to Stevenson picked up just six yards which led to a punt.

Starting their next drive on their own 40-yard line, where Garoppolo connected with Jakobi Meyers and Jacobs for a pair of first downs - plus another 15 yards on after an unnecessary roughness call on Jahlani Tavai. Down inside the red area, Garoppolo looked for Devante Adams who got popped by Jabrill Peppers. The hit jared the ball loose, where Tavai snagged it out of the air for a turnover.

New England’s offense was not able to capitalize on the turnover as Jones was sacked on third-down after a pair of Stevenson runs - one with Malik Cunningham at QB. Bryce Baringer then punted back to Vegas.

Second Quarter

On an opening third-and-six, New England’s pass rush could not get home as Garoppolo found Mayer for a 32-yard gain. Then facing another third-down, Garoppolo hit Meyers for another conversion to move just outside the 10-yard line. Two plays later, the duo connected again for a 2-yard touchdown. [Patriots 0 : 10 Raiders]

Injury update: DE Keion White (head) has been downgraded to out.

The Patriots finally found a positive offense play to start their next drive, as Jones hit DeVante Parker on a slant for seven yards. After a second-down run by Ezekiel Elliott was blown up by Maxx Crosby, Jones connected with the back who took it 74 yards for a touchdown - but it was negated by a Hunter Henry hold. New England still received the first-down and then Jones hit Bourne two plays later, who picked up a handful of yards after the catch for a 36-yard gain. The offense then stalled as Jones’ third-down pass was off the mark to Parker. Chad Ryland’s 43-yard field goal was good. [Patriots 3 : 10 Raiders]

Now trailing by a score, the Patriots defense quickly got off the field. A third-down pressure by Ja’Whaun Bentley resulted in an incompletion and punt.

New England picked up an opening first-down on a nine-yard gain off a screen to Bourne and a jet sweep to Elliott on third-down. On the following third-down, Jones lofted a ball downfield to Mike Gesicki who was able to scrap it off the ground for 15 yards. Two plays later, Jones tried to do too much running to his right and was intercepted.

The Raiders took over at their own 34-yard line following the turnover, where Jacobs picked up a first-down on back-to-back carries. Following the two-minute warning, Garoppolo found Meyers over the middle for a 14-yard gain. Meyers was then called for pass interference the next play which pushed Vegas back to the New England 25 with 30 seconds left in the half. Meyers then hauled in one more reception on third-down which was short of the sticks. Carlson knocked through a 37-yard field goal. [Patriots 3 : 13 Raiders]

New England took a knee to enter halftime.

Third Quarter

The Patriots started with the ball in the second half - with Mac Jones still at QB - and went to the ground game. Stevenson picked up 15 yards on the first play from scrimmage but needed to leave the game with an injury. Elliott then picked up eight more yards before Jones found Pharaoh Brown for another 15-yard gain. Jones then connected with his other tight end in Gesicki for a conversion on second-and-four. Gesicki and Elliott then combined to pick up another first-down inside the red-area, before Elliott plunged in a two-yard score. [Patriots 10 : 13 Raiders]

Las Vegas’ next drive featured Brian Hoyer at quarterback as Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a back injury late in the first half. On an opening third-and-four, Hoyer unloaded one deep downfield to Tucker for 48 yards. Just inside the red-area, Hoyer converted another third-down with a ball to Mayer before a holding call on the following play backed them up to New England’s 21-yard line. The Patriots then brought pressure on third-down leading to an incompletion and field goal. [Patriots 10 : 16 Raiders]

Injury update: RB Rhamondre Stevenson (head, ankle) is questionable to return. DB Jonathan Jones (knee) is questionable to return.

New England’s offense could not build off their last drive, as Jones was sacked on first-down and was incomplete on third. They punted back to Vegas.

Hoyer came out firing on the Raiders next possession, hitting Adams off a play-action pass for 21 yards. On the next play, Jacobs broke free for an 18-yard run to move the ball just outside of the red area. Facing a third-down, the Raiders dialed up another mesh concept that resulted in a 12-yard conversion. Hoyer’s next third-down pass - a fade to Adams in the end zone - was overthrown. Vegas settled for another field goal. [Patriots 10 : 19 Raiders]

Fourth Quarter

The Patriots picked up an opening first-down after a short run by Stevenson and a pair of touches for Bourne. Jones then went back to Bourne on back-to-back completions to set up another third-and-one, where a pitch to Stevenson picked up seven. After a shot play to Tyquan Thornton was incomplete as Jones’ pass was out of bounds, New England faced another third-down where a defensive holding call moved the chains. With a fresh set of downs, Malik Cunningham came in at QB but was brought down for a five-yard loss. Jones then went back to Bourne on three straight plays for 25 total yards and another first-down. The QB then got away with one as a pass should have been picked, but was complete to Ty Montgomery for nine yards. Back-to-back penalties then pushed New England backwards, but a roughing the passer penalty on Vegas gifted them a fresh set of downs. The Patriots took advantage as Stevenson plunged in a one-yard score to cap off a 17-play, 9:30 drive. [Patriots 17 : 19 Raiders]

Injury update: LB Josh Uche (foot) is questionable to return.

Vegas took over up two with 3:33 left in the game and quickly faced a third-and-eight. Hoyer’s pass fell incomplete, but J.C. Jackson was flagged for a pass interference. With a fresh set of downs, the Raiders kept the ball on the ground but could not pick up a first-down. New England used their last three timeouts to get the ball back with 2:23.

Mac Jones and Co. took the field and started backed up at their own nine-yard line trailing by two. Back-to-back touches from Stevenson picked up a first-down before the two minute warning, but a holding call on Atonio Mafi backed them up even further. On second-and-12, Jones took a shot deep and threw a dime down the left sideline to Parker who dropped it. After a delay of game penalty, Crosby got home to sack Jones for a safety. [Patriots 17 : 21 Raiders]

Baringer’s punt was fielded cleanly by Las Vegas, who then took victory formation to run out the clock.

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