The Patriots rebuild is going to take a while

Patriots

The Patriots began the Mike Vrabel coaching era with the reasonable promise of better days ahead. But his debut Sunday, a 20-13 loss to Pete Carroll and the Raiders, was not one of those better days.

By Chad Finn

September 8, 2025 | 7:24 AM

5 minutes to read

Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game . . .

It wasn’t so much a wakeup call as a confirmation of what we suspected, but perhaps didn’t want to admit until we actually saw it happen.

The Patriots began the Mike Vrabel coaching era with the reasonable promise of better days ahead. But his debut Sunday, a 20-13 loss to Pete Carroll and the Raiders, was not one of those better days.

Rather, it was a reminder that some serious growth needs to happen for the Patriots’ young and important players before good times return to Foxborough with any consistency.

Second-year quarterback Drake Maye made some nifty throws, particularly late in the first and through the second quarter. That’s when the Patriots played their best football before falling apart in a second half that looked way too much like what we’ve seen around here the last couple of years.

But Maye looked too high-strung at times, sailing throws to open receivers and throwing a bad interception (while under pressure) that shifted the entire tenor of the game early in the third quarter. His talent is clear, but so is his inexperience. Even with a far better coaching staff and some talent upgrades in his huddle, it’s clear his growing pains are not over.

It was a difficult day for his most important bodyguard, too. In his NFL debut, left tackle Will Campbell looked like . . . well, someone making his NFL debut, and someone with a lot of convincing to do that he can be a cornerstone left tackle. He was called for two false start penalties, and also whiffed on a block that led to a Maye fumble (which Campbell recovered).

I would have loved to see rookie second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson running behind Campbell in the quest for an explosive run from their most talented skill player. But Henderson got just five carries (for 27 yards) while looking a bit hesitant in the slippery conditions.

Still, it will reach a point of absurdity soon if he continues to have fewer carries than Rhamondre Stevenson (7 for 15 yards, including two failures to convert on third and short). Henderson was involved in the passing game, but didn’t have a rushing attempt in the second half. Not good. In the Patriots opener, not much was.

Some further thoughts, upon review . . .

Three players who were worth watching

Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Will Campbell, Brock Bowers, and rookie running backs Ashton Jeanty and TreVeyon Henderson.

Kayshon Boutte: After developing some chemistry last season and then building on that in training camp, Maye seems to completely trust the third-year receiver out of LSU, and maybe we should too. In the first half, he looked like the receiver many expect veteran Stefon Diggs to be in this offense, catching 4 passes (two 14-yarders, a 22-yarder, and a 24-yarder) in the first half for 74 yards. The 24-yard catch was a key play on the Patriots’ second possession, which ended with a DeMario Douglas touchdown reception, their lone TD of the game. Even with Diggs getting more involved in the second, Boutte finished with 6 receptions for 103 yards.

Harold Landry: Oh, so that’s why Vrabel wanted this guy in Foxborough so badly. A second-round pick by the Titans out of Boston College in 2018, the start of his career coincided with Vrabel’s first as an NFL head coach. He was a respected and reliable player in Tennessee, making one Pro Bowl and accumulating 50½ sacks, including 10½ last year. But his debut performance as a Patriot ranks as one of the best statistical days in his career. Landry, thriving in a blitz-heavy game-plan, finished with 2½ sacks, four quarterback hits, and three tackles for a loss. Only once before had he had more than 2½ sacks in a game — he had three in Week 14 of 2023 against the Dolphins.

Brock Bowers: The Patriots didn’t have much of any answer for either of the Raiders’ tight ends. Bowers, who set an NFL record for receptions by a rookie with 112 last season, fell immediately behind that pace to open his second season, catching five on Sunday. But he made his catches count, totaling 103 yards, the third-most of his career so far. Bowers hauled in a 23-yard reception on the Raiders’ first play from scrimmage. He got wide open over the middle for a 38-yard catch-and-run with just under four minutes left in the third quarter on a drive that ended with a field goal. A knee injury that didn’t appear serious soon sidelined him for the rest of the game, but Michael Mayer picked up the slack, including a crucial 8-yard catch to convert a fourth and 1 with 9:25 left and the Raiders in Patriots territory.

Grievance of the game

Yep, should have gone for it. Without a doubt, and that’s not hindsight, either. It was obvious in the moment.

Trailing, 20-10, with 4:53 remaining in the game and facing a fourth and 5 on their own 49, the Patriots lined up to go for it. Right call.

But Campbell’s second false start of the game pushed the offense back five yards, to fourth and 10. Vrabel decided to punt. Wrong call.

The likelihood of converting a fourth and 10 wasn’t high. But that didn’t really matter. The Patriots needed two scores, including a touchdown, in less than five minutes. They simply could not give the ball up there, especially with their struggles to slow the Raiders in the second half. They had to take that shot at the first down, even if it was a longshot.

Instead, Vrabel sent out Bryce Baringer, who compounded the bad decision by shanking a 21-yard punt, giving the Raiders the ball on their own 35.

Vrabel, as Bill Belichick can confirm, has a strong grasp on clock and game management. But in this situation, he made both the passive and incorrect call.

Three notes scribbled in the margins

Final score: Raiders 20, Patriots 13.

Predicted final score: Patriots 23, Raiders 15

Jakobi Meyers was his usual reliable and productive self against his former team, catching 8 of 10 targets for 97 yards. He accounted for 57 yards on consecutive plays on the Raiders’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter, with catches of 23 and 19 yards, with a 15-yard penalty tacked on to the latter catch for unnecessary roughness on Jaylinn Hawkins . . . No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty finished with a pedestrian stat line (19 carries, 38 yards, and a 3-yard touchdown run), but he was still impressive. The kid has burst, and the first one to hit him usually doesn’t take him down . . . CBS had its No. 5 broadcast team, Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta, on the call. It’s a low-key duo, which I like, though Dedes initially whiffing on the years of Pete Carroll’s tenure with the Patriots was a surprising factual error. (He did correct it.) Imagine those two will find their way to Foxborough another time or two before the season is over.