The New England Patriots, coming into their opening day matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, had many excited to see what was to come, with multiple recent acquisitions such as former All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs, newly drafted left tackle Will Campbell out of LSU, and new head coach Mike Vrabel. This, along with the return of existing Patriots such as second-year quarterback Drake Maye and third-year corner Christian Gonzalez, gave New England almost an entirely fresh identity heading into the 2025 NFL season, putting them on the radar and being favored by two and a half points ahead of their week one game.
However, things did not start according to plan, as the Las Vegas Raiders would come into Foxborough swinging, scoring a touchdown within the first 3 minutes of the game, and while the Patriots would come right back, scoring a touchdown of their own, along with even having a 10-7 lead at halftime, Las Vegas would gain all of the momentum heading into the second half, and would run with it, leading to a 20-13 loss for the Patriots.
Leading to the result was a display of players seemingly trying to find how they fit into the team, with a large chunk of them being new to the roster, and many of those players playing in their first ever professional game, there was almost bound to be mistakes of some sort, and unfortunately, those mistakes would actually be the reason why the Patriots would lose this game, leaving many shocked.
Despite the loss, there were still many positives that had come out of this game. To begin, the defense had held its own for the majority of the game, even with their All-Pro defensive back and arguably their best player, Christian Gonzalez, absent due to a hamstring injury. Newly signed players Harold Landry and Carlton Davis instantly made an impact, Landry having two and a half sacks in this game, with Davis tipping a pass that would later be intercepted by Jaylinn Hawkinns. Additionally, Drake Maye did not take a step back and up until the third quarter, had looked better than before, with a career high in passing yards with 287, and a touchdown throw to Demario Douglas. This “new look” for the team definitely passes the eye test. Even with the result, it is easy to say that this is not the same team as last year, which finished near the bottom of the league.
