New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders: Final Thoughts on a Poor Performance

The Raiders did a few things right against the Patriots. Unfortunately they did even more wrong. You can't lose the turnover battle 2-0 to a team like the Patriots and expect to win. It also doesn't help to have 40 more yards in penalties.

Still, this offense continued to show its explosiveness. They went for over 500 yards and outgained the Patriots in yards 504 to 409. In the end, the Patriots were better in the redzone and they didn't turn the ball over.

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• The running game continues to mash. The Raiders picked up 167 yards at 5.9 yards per carry. These numbers were padded by 59 yards on five carries by Jacoby Ford and Jason Campbell, but the Raiders still proved the only way to stop this running game is by getting a big lead.
• I think Darren McFadden was limited a bit by his groin. He took breathers that he normally doesn't take. Despite this he still had 123 yards on 18 touches in the run and pass game.
  
• DHB continued his progression. He had some nice catches and ended with four receptions for a career high 115 yards. However, he still flashed the frustration of inconsistency with two drops.
  
• The offensive line turned in another awesome performance. They didn't allow a sack and were excellent in run blocking.
• Kevin Boss showed off his blocking last week. This week he proved what a weapon he could be in the pass game. He had four catches for 78 yards on just five targets.
• The Raiders need to find a way to keep Denarius Moore involved in the offense even as receivers return to health. He had three catches on five targets, but he was not put in a position to make the kind of impact he had been in the last two weeks.
• The defense struggled. There were some key injuries, but that is no excuse for this kind of failure. They struggled against the run and pass, and the heart and soul of this defense, the line, failed to make its presence felt. They were not the same without Matt Shaughnessy.
• Even more depressing than the Raiders' inability to stop the run was their ability to slow down Wes Welker. Everyone in the world knew that Welker was going to be the focus of the pass offense and the defense did nothing to limit him. He ended with nine catches for 158 yards.