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Versus: Raiders to be tested in season opener against young, revamped Patriots team

Sep 03, 2025 at 03:15 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

The Las Vegas Raiders open up their 2025 season against the New England Patriots, a team they've got the best of in recent memory.

However, things have changed in Foxborough since the last time these two teams squared off.

The Patriots brought in their former Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Vrabrel as head coach, previously the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year with the Tennessee Titans. New England also used its draft capitol and free agency to rebuild the team with players such as Drake Maye, TreVeyon Henderson and Stefon Diggs entering the mix.

The Silver and Black have made a few changes of their own, bringing in Super Bowl winning coach Pete Carroll and stacking weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

Heading into this Week 1 contest, here are three highly anticipated matchups to keep an eye on in Gillette Stadium.

Drake Maye vs. Maxx Crosby

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye showcased enough in his rookie season for his team to be excited about heading into 2025.

New England selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in 2024 and he was named the starter in Week 6. In his 12 starts, he recorded 15 passing touchdowns and had five games where he completed at least 70 percent of his passes. In the process, he became one of 15 rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to be selected to play in the Pro Bowl.

Across from Maye on the line of scrimmage will be Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby. His 2024 season didn't go to his liking, as an ankle injury forced him out of the last four games of the year. Nevertheless, he was selected to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and led the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Now back at full health, he's looked dominant throughout training camp and the preseason.

"Maxx can line up wherever he wants, or they can put him wherever they want," Mike Vrabel said on WEEI 93.7 FM. "I think it has to be for everybody blocking him. He has a certain play style. I think if you drop your head, he's going to jump around. And if you're over-aggressive, he's going to try to make you miss. ... He has a very unique play style where he'll jab and jump around, and he uses his length and athleticism as opposed to, let's say, maybe more of a power player. Not that he can't do that, but again, he makes his money with instinctiveness and jumping under. If you overreach him, he's coming under, and he's getting in the backfield."

A main factor that could get in the way of Crosby getting to Maye is the quarterback's mobility. Maye rushed for 421 yards last season, the ninth-most of any quarterback in the league. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he also ranked in the top 10 of all quarterbacks in rushing yards over expected (105), rush success rate (61.1) and explosive rushes over 10 yards (18).

"It's absolutely in the middle of the preparation because he is so [athletic]," Pete Carroll said of Maye's scrambling abilities.

"We know that he can take off and run and make things happen and he did it in preseason, and made it look easy," Carroll added. "So, that's a big factor in their favor as a running team as well."

Chip Kelly vs. Josh McDaniels

This Week 1 matchup will feature two established playcallers doing everything in their power to defeat the opposing defense.

Chip Kelly arrived to Las Vegas fresh off a national championship win with Ohio State. He also served as head coach of an explosive Oregon offense that produced three consecutive conference championships, a BCS National Championship Game berth and 2014 Heisman Trophy Winner Marcus Mariota.

Now in the Silver and Black, Kelly will unload his offensive scheme with a variety of weapons such as Brock Bowers, Amari Cooper, Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker. And at quarterback, he has Geno Smith leading the way – a player he actually tried recruiting to Oregon.

"Just do the right thing, make the right decisions, get the ball out of hands in rhythm on time and accurately and let the playmakers do their jobs," Smith said when asked of his role in Kelly's offense. "My job is to get us to the right play and make the right decision. As long as I'm doing that with the guys around me, we should be fine."

This offseason, Josh McDaniels returned to be the Patriots offensive coordinator. He left the Patriots in 2021 to become the head coach of the Raiders, serving in that role for 25 games. In McDaniels' 13 seasons as the Pats OC, their offense has ranked top five in both total yardage and points scored on five occasions.

"They're physical like you would think," Carroll said. "Josh has run the ball a lot in their history and Mike Vrabrel wants to run the football too. They're really physical about it, the running backs run really hard and Josh has traditionally had a really downhill attack. It's pretty classic and it's really good."

Ashton Jeanty vs. Patriots run defense

As the Raiders' first-round pick gears up for his first real NFL game, he'll have a tough challenge ahead.

The Silver and Black drafted Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty to lead the backfield, coming off a 2024 season in which the Raiders were the last ranked rushing offense in the league. The Boise State product has enjoyed a productive training camp and rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown in his limited reps during the preseason.

On the flip side, the New England Patriots did a lot this offseason to improve their run defense which ranked 23rd in the league. Their most prominent signing was defensive tackle Milton Williams, who recorded nine tackles for loss for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season and playoffs.

"They're a great group," Jeanty said of the Patriots' front seven. "Some of their guys are more physical, especially the defensive ends really setting that edge using speed and great moves. Milton [is] a more physical guy, disrupting the run."

Additionally, New England snagged two former Raiders in linebacker Robert Spillane and edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson, who combined for 17 tackles for loss in 2024. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Spillane led the Raiders in run stops (62) in 2024.

In similar fashion to the matchup between Crosby and Maye, the offensive line will play a pivotal role in who wins this matchup between Jeanty and the Patriots run defense.

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