Ups and Downs: More foolish mistakes cost Patriots a chance to beat Raiders

BOSTON -- The Patriots had their best offensive effort in weeks on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas. The defense was once again solid for New England.

None of it was good enough for this football team to win a game though. There were too many self-inflicted wounds and too many plays left on the field for New England to pick up its second win of the season. They squandered a chance to go on a comeback drive at the end of the game and lost 21-17.

The Pats are now a dreadful 1-5 for the first time since 1995. New England finished 6-10 that season, but six wins feels like an extremely optimistic hope for this season. 

The Patriots continue to make foolish mistakes that cost them yardage, points, and games. Here are the ups and (mostly) downs from yet another loss in the 2023 season.

Downs

Parker's drop

Mac Jones delivered a beautiful deep ball to DeVante Parker that should have put the Patriots in position for a potential game-winning field goal -- or at least very close to one -- in the final minutes. But Parker flat out dropped it. It hit him in the hands, and he dropped it.

The drop wasn't all that cost the Patriots on their final drive. They had two penalties -- an Atonio Mafi hold and a delay of game -- that moved them backwards. But Parker making that catch could have changed the entire outlook of the season. 

Once again, the Patriots let an opportunity to do something good go right through their fingertips. It's a big reason they find themselves 1-5 at the moment.

Mac's INT

The Patriots were moving the ball late in the second quarter when Mac Jones did what he CANNOT do anymore. He rolled out, threw against his body, overthrew his target, and put it right in the hands of the defense.

Jones overthrew Henry by a mile on that pass. It was an absolutely brutal decision on the quarterback's part. The Patriots went on a promising drive down the field, and Mac killed it with another interception.

He bounced back well after that throw -- at least until the end when his lack of pocket awareness was on full display as he was sacked by Maxx Crosby for a safety. Mac had time to throw the ball away, but instead took the sack that sent the Pats to 1-5.

So many penalties...

Each week seems like it's the Patriots vs. the Patriots vs. their opponents. New England had 10 penalties on Sunday, costing them 79 yards and a touchdown.

"We had penalties to start the game and three penalties in the last two minutes. That's not a good formula," Belichick said after the loss.

Vederian Lowe was flagged for a false start on the team's first offensive snap. A Hunter Henry hold negated a 74-yard touchdown reception by Ezekiel Elliott. 

On the offense's final drive, Rhamondre Stevenson fought for extra yards and a first down just ahead of the 2-minute warning. But an Atonio Mafi holding penalty brought it back.

Then the Pats were hit with a delay of game on third-and-12, setting up a third-and-15 deep in Las Vegas territory. Crosby sacked Jones for a safety on the very next play.

These issues cannot continue to happen if the Patriots want any chance at winning another game. But they seem to be getting more prevalent every week.

First two possessions of nothing

After the Raiders had the ball for over eight minutes on their opening drive, the Patriots had the ball for a grand total of 56 seconds as they went three-and-out to start the game. Not exactly what you want to see from a quarterback on a short leash. 

At least they picked up six yards on that opening drive. On their second drive, which followed an interception by the defense, the Pats went backwards. Jones was sacked for an 11-yard loss on third-and-7 to end the possession, and the Raiders scored a touchdown on their next drive to send New England into a 10-0 hole.

No sense of urgency late

Even on their second touchdown drive of the game, there were several issues with the New England offense. When they got into a goal-to-go situation, the Pats were slapped with two penalties on back-to-back plays that pushed them back 10 more yards. They got lucky when Crosby was hit with a roughing the passer penalty, giving them another opportunity to find the end zone -- which they did on a Stevenson touchdown run.

But the Pats took their sweet time with the 9:30 drive, letting valuable seconds tick off the clock before cutting Las Vegas' lead to 19-17.

Third down defense

The Raiders were the 28th-ranked team on third down entering play on Sunday, converting just 32.7 percent of their chances. They were 8-for-16 on third down on Sunday.

The worst was a 48-yard connection between Brian Hoyer and Tre Tucker, who burned Jonathan Jones on the play. (Jones was also hurt on the play.) The Raiders had the ball for nearly four more minutes after that conversion and added a field goal to make it a 16-10 game with under four minutes to play.

Ups

The drought is over!

The Patriots offense scored a touchdown! The Patriots offense scored a touchdown!

They actually scored two on Sunday, but Elliott's 2-yard touchdown run to start the second half was New England's first touchdown in 197 minutes and 42 seconds of game action. It snapped a touchdown drought of 39 straight drives -- 15 drives longer than the previous longest streak under Belichick.   

That hit by Peppers

Davante Adams still probably feels this one. Jabrill Peppers absolutely demolished the receiver deep in New England territory and saved the Patriots even bigger hole early in the game.

Red zone defense

Las Vegas was just 1-for-6 in their trips inside the 20. Nice effort by the bend-don't-break New England defense.

But the flip side is that the Raiders scored more than 18 points for the first time this season.