Well, that's not exactly how we drew it up. The 2025 season opener at Gillette Stadium was supposed to be a celebration — new energy, new expectations, a building that was buzzing before kickoff. Instead, the Las Vegas Raiders walked into Foxborough and walked out with a 20-13 win that left 65,000 fans sitting in stunned silence.
The offense was the story, and not in a good way. Two turnovers — including a brutal interception in the red zone late in the third quarter — killed any momentum before it could build. The Patriots managed just 243 total yards on the afternoon, and a 3-for-12 mark on third down tells you everything about how disjointed the attack looked. Drives stalled, conversions didn't happen, and the scoreboard reflected it.
Credit where it's due: the defense actually played well enough to win this game. They held the Raiders to a manageable output for most of the afternoon and gave the offense plenty of chances to get going. But when you only hold the ball for 26 minutes and change, you're asking your defense to do too much for too long.
Look, it's Week 1. Nobody's season is defined by the opener, and we've seen enough from this roster to know there's talent here. But the execution has to be sharper, the ball security has to be better, and this team needs to find its rhythm fast. The schedule doesn't get easier.
On to Week 2. One game at a time, Pats Nation.