Patriots vs. Raiders preview: Maye's 7 INTs meet Cousins' 11 TDs
The 2-2 Patriots host a 3-1 Raiders team at Gillette on Sunday, and the quarterback numbers tell two very different stories.
Okay, football people, gather round. I know, I know, I'm usually the girl with the drum and the flag. But a match is a match, and this one has a LOT going on.
The New England Patriots (2-2, second in the AFC East) host the Las Vegas Raiders (3-1) on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:00 p.m. ET. New England is 1-0 at home. Las Vegas is 2-0 on the road.
The quarterback gap
Here's the storyline that jumps off the page. Drake Maye has thrown for 854 yards and 4 touchdowns on 73-of-117 passing, with 7 interceptions. Seven. Kirk Cousins, on the other side, has 1,026 yards, 11 touchdowns and just 4 picks on 93-of-144.
That's the whole preview in one stat line. If Maye protects the ball, the Patriots are the favorites for a reason. If he doesn't, I have aged a decade by halftime.
Around him, Rhamondre Stevenson leads the ground game with 163 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries, and Mack Hollins leads the receivers with 15 catches for 209 yards. For Vegas, Ashton Jeanty has 264 rushing yards on 78 carries, and Tre Tucker has 233 receiving yards and a score on 15 grabs.
Form and the walking wounded
The recent results are a rollercoaster. In the Patriots' last five listed games they are 2-3: a 29-26 win at Buffalo, a 20-3 win over Pittsburgh, and losses of 35-6 at Jacksonville, 13-10 at Seattle and 37-13 at Cleveland. The Raiders are 3-2 across theirs, with wins of 26-14 at the Chargers, 27-13 over Miami and 35-27 at New Orleans, against losses to Kansas City (30-27) and San Francisco (18-12).
On the injury report, the Patriots list five players as questionable: safety Craig Woodson (shoulder), tackle Morgan Moses (foot), defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (shoulder), linebacker Christian Elliss (chest) and fullback Reggie Gilliam (ankle). Vegas has its own worry: tight end Brock Bowers is questionable with a knee issue, along with wideout Cody White (ankle), guard Spencer Burford (knee) and defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (shoulder).
The line
DraftKings has New England as a 3.5-point favorite with the over/under at 45.5.
How to watch
Sunday, Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m. ET, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, on CBS.
Our take
This is opinion, so don't @ me. The line says Patriots by a field goal and a half, and the home crowd should help. But I keep coming back to those 7 interceptions against Cousins' 4. The Patriots can win this if the offense stays clean and the defense makes Vegas work for every yard. I'll say Patriots by a score, and I'll be yelling at my TV the entire time. Come on you Pats.
