Late safety ends Patriots' hopes of a comeback against Raiders as New England drops to 1-5 on season
BOSTON -- The Patriots had a chance to pull off an impressive comeback on Sunday in Las Vegas. It ended with a thud.
A sack split between Maxx Crosby and Bilal Nichols in the end zone gave the Raiders a safety and a 21-17 lead with 1:47 left in the game, a score which held for the final.
The loss dropped the Patriots to 1-5 on the season.
The Patriots took over at their own 9-yard line with 2:23 left in the game and zero timeouts left, needing a field goal to pull off a comeback win. Mac Jones delivered a perfect deep ball to DeVante Parker on second down, but the veteran receiver dropped the pass. On third down, Jones was sacked in the end zone for a safety.
Jones was 24-for-33 for 200 yards with no touchdowns and one interception on the day, while Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott each had a rushing touchdown.
"We just lost, so it's not good," Jones said of the team's morale. "But we have a really good group of guys. If we choose to respond the right way, it will go well. If not, it will go the other way."
Jimmy Garoppolo exited the game at halftime after suffering a back injury. Garoppolo was 14-for-22 for 162 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the first half. Brian Hoyer went 6-for-10 for 102 yards with no touchdowns or picks in relief of Garoppolo.
The Raiders opened the game with a long scoring drive, though they had to settle for a field goal after taking seven snaps inside the Patriots' 25-yard line. A personal foul on Sam Roberts for leverage on the Raiders' first field goal attempt gave the home team a fresh set of downs, but the Patriots' defense got pressure on Garoppolo to force a third-down incompletion.
The short field goal capped off a 16-play, 69-yard drive.
The Patriots went three-and-out on their first two drives, sandwiching an impressive interception by Jahlani Tavai between them.
After the second three-and-out, the Raiders embarked on another long scoring drive, this one going 59 yards over eight plays and ending with a touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers to give Vegas a 10-0 lead.
The Patriots responded with a scoring drive -- their first time putting points on the board since the first quarter in Dallas in Week 4 -- thanks to a long catch-and-run by Kendrick Bourne. Ezekiel Elliott had found the end zone on a 74-yard catch-and-run earlier on the drive, but a holding penalty on Hunter Henry brought it back. The drive stalled at the Vegas 24-yard line, but Chad Ryland kicked a 43-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 game.
The Patriots were driving with a chance to tie the game later in the second quarter, but the drive was undone by a terrible misfire by Jones, who threw an interception while rolling to his right.
The Raiders turned that possession into a field goal, taking a 13-3 lead before halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Patriots made their way into the red zone for the first time since Week 4. They were able to get into the end zone when Ezekiel Elliott plowed in from the 2-yard line on a direct snap. The score cut the Raiders' lead to 13-10.
Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer entered the game for the Raiders, with Garoppolo out due to his back injury, and led Las Vegas on a field goal drive. The Raiders drove deep into Patriots territory but moved backward on a holding penalty, with Hoyer throwing incomplete on a third down to force Vegas to settle for another field goal to make it a 16-10 game.
Hoyer led another long scoring drive for Vegas but the Raiders again had to settle for a field goal after driving deep into the red zone. A third-down overthrow to Davante Adams led to a field goal, which made it a 19-10 score.
The Patriots then put together a 9:30 drive that looked like it was going to end with a field goal. But a roughing the passer penalty on Maxx Crosby gave the Patriots a new set of downs inside the 5-yard line, and Rhamondre Stevenson scored from the 1-yard line to make it a 19-17 lead for Las Vegas.
The Patriots return home next Sunday to host the Bills.
