The Oakland Raiders will head out on the road the next two weeks, embarking on an 11-day road trip this Friday that will take them to New England for their Week 3 match-up with the Patriots on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 10:00 a.m. PT, and then an International Series contest in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins in London. Oakland is making its first trip to Gillette Stadium since the 2005 season opener, which was a Thursday night contest after New England won the Super Bowl the year before. The game will also mark the first meeting between the two squads since Oct. 2, 2011 in Oakland. Last week, the Raiders fell to the Houston Texans, 30-14, in their home opener. The Patriots will be hosting their home opener this week, having started the 2014 campaign with two road games, including a Week 2 win over the Vikings in Minnesota.
The Raiders fell at home last week to the Houston Texans, 30-14. The offense was led by WR James Jones, who caught nine passes for 112 yards and one TD. The game marked Jones' first 100-yard receiving performance as a Raider. QB Derek Carr threw for 263 yards on 27-of-42 passing with one TD and two interceptions. RB Darren McFadden had 68 yards of total offense and one rushing TD.
New England turned in a stout defensive performance last week on the road against the Vikings, intercepting Matt Cassel four times and limiting Minnesota to just 217 yards of offense. RB Stevan Ridley led the New England rushing attack, gaining 101 yards on 15 carries with one TD. QB Tom Brady was an efficient 15-of-22 for 149 yards and one TD in the 30-7 victory.
Oakland will head directly to London following Sunday's contest and spend the week in England, before playing the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 28. The Patriots will travel to Kansas City to play on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs.
QUOTING D.A.
"It's time for us to do it. Talk's cheap. We need to make improvement and we need to make improvement fast. ... Still not up to the standard that we've got to play at. Like I said, we've got a lot of getting better to do. We need to do that quickly. It starts this week." - Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen
TELEVISION
CBS
Play-by-play: Greg Gumbel
Color Analyst: Trent Green
Sideline: Evan Washburn
RADIO
Raiders Radio Network (31 stations)
Flagship: 95.7 The Game/98.5 KFOX
(Sunday's game will be on KFOX 98.5/102.9 KBLX)
Play-by-play: Greg Papa
Color Analyst: Tom Flores
Sideline: Lincoln Kennedy
SPANISH RADIO
Flagship: KSOL 98.9 FM ("Radio Estereo Sol, 98.9 y 99.1")
Play-by-play: Fernando Arias
Color Analyst: Ambrosio Rico
PATRIOTS SNAPSHOT
Overview: The New England Patriots host the Raiders in the team's home opener following a Week 2 victory on the road over the Minnesota Vikings, 30-7. The Pats rebounded after a divisional loss in Week 1 to the Miami Dolphins, 33-20, with a strong defensive performance, forcing five turnovers and six sacks. Head Coach Bill Belichick, now in his 15th season at the helm of the Patriots, earned his 200th career regular-season win in the game, bringing his overall record to 219-115 (19-9 in the postseason). With three Super Bowl championships as head coach, Belichick hopes to return New England to the playoffs for the sixth straight season and the 12th time under his guidance.
Offense: The Patriots offense has had historic success under the leadership of 15th-year QB Tom Brady, who holds the franchise records in passing touchdowns, yards, completions and career wins. Brady debuted for New England in 2000 and has since earned two Super Bowl MVP awards, two AP NFL MVP awards and nine Pro Bowl berths (five straight). Through the first two weeks of 2014, Brady has posted 398 yards on 44-of-78 passing (56.4 percent) with two TDs and a passer rating of 78.9. Sixth-year WR Julian Edelman has been his favorite target thus far, hauling in 12 passes for 176 yards (14.7 avg.) and one TD. RB Stevan Ridley, now in his fourth NFL season, leads the team in rushing with 33 attempts for 122 yards (3.7 avg.) and one TD.
Defense: New England boasts a talented defensive lineup, led by eight-year Patriot LB Jerod Mayo, who currently leads the squad in tackles with 19 (15 solo) through two games. Mayo's lone sack on the season has contributed to a pass rush currently led by DE Chandler Jones and LB Dont'a Hightower, who each have two thus far. CB Darrelle Revis is off to a fast start with his new team, posting one INT and three passes defensed in 2014.
[
](http://www.pntra.com/t/R0BKSkdFREBKTERGSEBISEtERw)NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Pro Connections
•Raiders assistant head coach/offensive line Tony Sparano was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2011 when Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll was the offensive coordinator there. Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo also coached on the staff from 2009-2011. Patriots DE Rob Ninkov-ich played for Sparano with the Dolphins in 2008.
•Raiders assistant head coach/offensive line Tony Sparano, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and G/T Austin Howard all spent time with the New York Jets alongside Patriots CB Darrelle Revis (2007-12). Sparano was offensive coordinator in 2012, DeFilippo was the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2009 and Howard played with Revis from 2011-12. Howard also played on the New York Jets offensive line in 2012 that was coached by Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo when Sparano was offensive coordinator.
•Raiders linebackers coach Bob Sanders and Patriots LB Chris White were to-gether as members of the Buffalo Bills from 2011-12 where Sanders coached outside linebackers (2011) and linebackers (2012).
•Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson, T Donald Penn and Patriots CB Kyle Arrington were all members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009 where Olson was the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator.
•Raiders T Khalif Barnes and Patriots OL Dan Connolly were both on the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive line as rookies in 2005.
•Raiders senior offensive assistant Al Saunders (2001-05) was the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs when Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea was a volunteer/assistant special teams (2003) and assistant special teams/linebackers (2004-05).
•Raiders defensive backs coach Joe Woods (2006-13) coached the defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings when Patriots defensive assistant Brendan Daly (2012-13) coached the defensive line and while Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea (2006-08) was the offensive assistant there.
College Connections
•Raiders S Charles Woodson and Patriots QB Tom Brady were teammates at Michigan from 1996-97, a span in which Woodson won the Heisman Trophy (1997) and Brady played in six games for the Wolverines. The pair won the Rose Bowl together in 1997.
•Raiders S Tyvon Branch (2004-07) and LB Sio Moore (2009-12) both played at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., less than two hours southwest of Gillette Stadium.
•Patriots rookie OL Cameron Fleming attended Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., playing for the Cardinal from 2011-13, and Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver and offensive assistant Nick Holz were with him in 2011.
•Patriots RB Shane Vereen played at the University of California in Berkeley, Calif., from 2008-10.
•Raiders S Usama Young played at Kent State opposite Patriots WR Julian Edelman in 2006 where Edelman was the team's quarterback. Patriots corner-backs coach Josh Boyer was a graduate assistant (2002-03) in Young's first year there (2003).
•Raiders CB Chimdi Chekwa and Patriots DB Nate Ebner were teammates at Ohio State from 2009-10, winning a Rose Bowl and a Sugar Bowl together.
Raiders from New England and Patriots from Northern California/Hometown Connections
•Raiders assistant head coach/offensive line Tony Sparano is originally from West Haven, Conn., and began his coaching career in the New England area. Sparano played for New Haven as a center (1978-81) and later served as the offensive line coach (1984-87). He moved on to Boston University where he was offensive line coach (1988) and offensive coordinator (1988-93) before returning to New Haven as head coach (1994-98).
•Patriots QB Tom Brady is originally from San Mateo, Calif., where he attended Junípero Serra High School. Patriots WR Julian Edelman, a native of Redwood City, Calif., attended Woodside High School in Woodside, Calif., not far from Brady's alma mater.
•Raiders DT Pat Sims and Patriots WR Brian Tyms both attended Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Raiders G Kevin Boothe (Pine Crest High School) and Patriots RB James White (St. Thomas Aquinas High School) are also Fort Lauderdale natives.
