Game Preview: Silver and Black prep for duel against Bill Belichick, Patriots

Oct 11, 2023 at 12:00 PM

Rachel Gossen

Digital Managing Editor

The Raiders (2-3) welcome the New England Patriots (1-4) to Las Vegas for the second straight year.

Kickoff is set for Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT from Allegiant Stadium.

Broadcast information

Table inside Article
Network/Flagship	Play-by-play	Color Analyst
TV: CBS	Jim Nantz	Tony Romo
National Radio: SportsUSA Radio	Larry Kahn	Doug Plank
Local Radio: KOMP 92.3 FM and KRLV "Raider Nation Radio 920 AM"	Jason Horowitz	Lincoln Kennedy
Spanish Radio: Deportes Vegas 1460 AM	Harry Ruiz	Mayra Gomez

Opponent profile

Coach: Bill Belichick

Quarterback: Mac Jones

2022 record: 8-9

Patriots Depth Chart

What to know

This Sunday's game will mark the third time as a head coach that Josh McDaniels has gone up against his mentor, Bill Belichick. The Raiders head coach is 2-0 against Belichick – a 20-17 overtime win with the Broncos on Oct. 11 2009 and a 30-24 win with the Raiders on Dec. 18, 2022. Having spent 19 seasons with the Patriots and 13 as the offensive coordinator, McDaniels holds the head coach in high regard.

"I have great respect for their team and their coaching staff and obviously for Bill," McDaniels said. "They'll be ready to play. They've got a lot of things that they do that create issues for you. We're going to have to, on a short week, get ready for a lot of different things. We have not seen a team that plays like this. There's a lot of challenges inherently in getting ready for them. I'm sure he'll have them ready to go."

The Patriots are looking to right their ship as they've lost two straight – 38-3 to the Dallas Cowboys and 34-0 to the New Orleans Saints – and haven't scored a touchdown in their last 34 offensive drives. Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien said Tuesday that New England's focus throughout the week will be on cleaning up the fundamentals as they ready for a Raiders defense on the rise.

While McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler's ties to New England are strong, it's also where Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers started their careers. Across three seasons (2014-16), Garoppolo appeared in 17 games with two starts and threw for 690 yards and five touchdowns. Meyers notched a career high in touchdowns (six) in 2022 with the Pats and totaled 2,758 receiving yards in four seasons.

Raiders Depth Chart

Matchup history

The Patriots lead the all-time regular season series against the Raiders, 18-15-1. The last time the two teams met was in Week 15 of the 2022 season, with the Raiders getting a memorable 30-24 victory.

Stats

Following Week 5, the Raiders offense ranks 29th in the league in total offense (281.2 yards per game), 17th in passing (209.8 ypg), 32nd in rushing (71.4 ypg) and tied for 29th in points (15.8 ppg). Defensively, the Raiders rank 14th in total defense (326.6 ypg), 11th in passing (197.2 ypg), 23rd in rushing (129.4 ypg) and tied for 19th in points allowed (22.8 ppg).

The Patriots offense ranks 26th in the league in total offense (287.4 yards per game), tied for 18th in passing (203.6 ypg), 26th in rushing (83.8 ypg) and 32nd in points (11.0 ppg). Defensively, the Patriots rank eighth in total defense (298.4 ypg), sixth in passing (190.4 ypg), 16th in rushing (108.0 ypg) and 25th in points allowed (26.2 ppg).

Numbers to know

WR Davante Adams needs 11 touchdowns to surpass Raiders alumnus Tim Brown in career receiving touchdowns and rank ninth on the NFL's all-time receiving touchdowns list.
K Daniel Carlson needs two made field goals to reach 150 career field goals and become one of just six kickers in NFL history to make 150 field goals in 84 games or less.
DE Maxx Crosby needs 6.5 sacks in 2023 to reach 49.0 sacks through his first five seasons in the NFL, the most by a Raiders defender through their first five seasons.
RB Josh Jacobs needs six rushing touchdowns to surpass Pete Banaszak and move into second in franchise history in career rushing TDs.
Jacobs needs 25 rushing yards to reach 5,000 career rushing yards and become the fourth player to reach 5,000 rushing yards in Raiders history and the second Raider to accomplish the feat in 65 games or less.
Jacobs needs 129 rushing yards to surpass Clem Daniels (5,103) for third on the Raiders all-time rushing list.
With 100+ yards rushing, Jacobs would notch his 16th career 100-yard performance, which would surpass Clem Daniels (15) for the second most such games in franchise history.

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Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Troy Pride Jr.'s (27) pads in the locker room prior to the Las Vegas Raiders' arrival for their regular season home game against the Green Bay Packers at Allegiant Stadium.