DeVante Parker didn't have much to say about his costly drop against the Raiders

BOSTON -- The Patriots had a chance to go on a game-winning drive in Las Vegas. A win over the Raiders wouldn't have saved the season, but it would have at least kept things afloat.

Instead, the Patriots -- mainly, receiver DeVante Parker -- let that comeback bid go right through their hands.

Trailing by just two points and only needing a field goal to win the game, the Patriots were facing a second-and-11 at their own 8-yard line. Mac Jones dialed up a deep ball to Parker and the quarterback, who had his share of shaky moments throughout Sunday's loss, threw an absolute dime downfield to his receiver, who was able to get behind the Las Vegas defense. 

The pass was right on Parker's hands, and a catch would have given the Patriots a golden chance at a potential game-winning field goal. Given how the Patriots have played all season, there is no guarantee they'd have gone on to win it. But a catch would have given them a chance.

Instead, Parker dropped it. The ball hit him right in the hand, and he dropped it. A delay of game penalty followed, and then Jones was sacked in the end zone to seal the 21-17 victory for the Raiders.

It's another new way the Patriots have found to lose a game. And after the defeat, Parker didn't seem too fazed by his drop, saying the pass only hit him in the fingertips and not right square in the middle of his hand. 

"It got my fingertips, I think. But I didn't get a full grasp of it," he told reporters at his locker. 

Is that a pass he could have caught though?

"I think so," he replied. "Fingertips, so I don't know."

Parker caught just one of the three passes that Jones sent his way on Sunday. He has 13 receptions off 22 targets for the season.

He seemed to be pushing the blame for the drop onto Jones' pass, which was right on the money and the quarterback's best throw of the day. While Jones made his share of mistakes, including a terrible interception in the second quarter, he stepped up and threw an absolute dime when the Patriots needed one. 

"DP is a great deep-ball threat. We kind of agreed that we wanted that route," Jones said of the play after Sunday's loss. "Just a tough, tough play. If it goes one way, we might go down there and win. If it goes the other way, we didn't. It's football. 

"At the end of the day, I have a lot of trust in the receivers," Jones added. "I felt like their energy this week was really good. They've been very confident that they can get open and catch the ball, and they've shown that at times, for sure."  

Parker is New England's No. 1 receiver by default, and that is the kind of catch he should be making. Especially considering the team gave him a three-year extension ahead of the season to make big-game plays like that. 

When asked what would help fix the New England offense, which matched its season-high of 17 points on Sunday, Parker said they need to "eliminate penalties."

"That is what is killing us," he said.

Well, he's not wrong. The Patriots were hit with 10 penalties throughout Sunday's game, including one on their first offensive snap and two on their final failed drive. A holding penalty also took a 74-yard touchdown by Ezekiel Elliott off the board.

This offense isn't good enough to overcome half of those penalties, let alone 10. But the team also cannot afford to leave big plays on the field, and Parker let one slip right through his hands on Sunday.