Raiders try to keep momentum going against Belichick, Patriots – News18

NEW ENGLAND (1-4) at LAS VEGAS (2-3)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, CBS

BETTING LINE: Raiders by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Patriots 1-4; Raiders 2-3.

SERIES RECORD: Patriots lead 18-15-1.

LAST MEETING: Raiders beat Patriots 30-24 on Dec. 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.

LAST WEEK: Patriots lost to Saints 34-0; Raiders beat Packers 17-13.

PATRIOTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (26), PASS (T-18), SCORING (32).

PATRI0TS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (16), PASS (6), SCORING (25).

RAIDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (32), PASS (17), SCORING (T-29).

RAIDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (14), RUSH (23), PASS (11), SCORING (T-20).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Patriots minus-8 (31); Raiders minus-7 (T-29).

PATRIOTS PLAYER TO WATCH: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley. He leads the Patriots with 36 total tackles and is coming off his 11th game with 10 or more. He is looking to have back-to-back 10-plus tackle games for the first time since last season, when he had three straight. One of those games was against the Raiders last December, when he had 10.

RAIDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Jakobi Meyers. He was a central figure in last season’s meeting for the wrong reason. It was his lateral in a tie game that turned into a Raiders touchdown when Meyers played for the Patriots. He signed with Las Vegas in the offseason and has benefited with so much defensive attention paid to Davante Adams. Meyers has 25 catches for 274 yards and three touchdowns.

KEY MATCHUP: Raiders offensive line vs. Patriots defensive front. Las Vegas allowed 15 sacks over its past three games, and now the Raiders face a New England defense that is ranked eighth. The Patriots, however, don’t have Matt Judon, which hurts their pass rush. Even so, the Raiders must show they not only can pass block effectively but open holes for RB Josh Jacobs.

KEY INJURIES: Receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas began the week in the concussion protocol. … LB Matt Judon is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on his biceps. … Raiders CBs Nate Hobbs (ankle) and Jakorian Bennett (hamstring) didn’t play Monday night against the Green Bay Packers. Hobbs didn’t practice Wednesday, but Bennett saw limited action. … WR Davante Adams (shoulder) didn’t practice Wednesday.

SERIES NOTES: The series between two charter members of the AFL goes back to 1960, the inaugural season for each team. … The Raiders’ 30-24 win last season snapped a streak of six consecutive Patriots victories.

STATS AND STUFF: Patriots coach Bill Belichick (299) will try for a third straight game to join Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318) as the only NFL coaches with 300 regular-season wins. Including the playoffs, Belichick is 9-2 against the Raiders. … The Patriots have had a sack in 24 consecutive games. That streak is tied with Carolina for the third longest in the NFL, behind Kansas City (25) and Baltimore (26). … RB Rhamondre Stevenson had a career-high 172 yards rushing and a touchdown in last season’s game. … TE Hunter Henry has 50-plus receiving yards in three of his five games this season. He has a receiving TD in two of his past three games as a visitor against the Raiders. … DE Deatrich Wise tied his career high with seven tackles in Week 5. He has a sack in two of his past games on the road. … Punter Bryce Baringer is leading the NFL with 16 punts placed inside the 20-yard line. Five of his eight punts last week against the Saints ended up inside the 20. … CB J.C. Jackson leads with the NFL with 26 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2016. … The Raiders have failed to score 20 points in their past six games going back to last season. Las Vegas last reached that mark in a 37-34 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on New Year’s Day. … Las Vegas DE Maxx Crosby has 73 tackles for loss since entering the league in 2019, tied with T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most over that time. … Crosby has 100 QB hits, sixth most in the NFL since his rookie season. … The Raiders are one victory from 500. They are 10th all time. … Tre Tucker is one of two receivers with multiple runs of 15-plus yards this season. Arizona’s Rondale Moore is the other player. … QB Jimmy Garoppolo is tied with Drew Brees for first with a 67.7 percent completion rate with quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passes.

FANTASY TIP: WR Davante Adams. He was nearly a forgotten man for much of the game against the Packers. He was targeted once early, but then not again until catching three passes on the winning drive. It was odd to see one of the top two or three receivers in the NFL become an afterthought for much of the game. Don’t expect that again.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)