New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots will need to maintain a high level of confidence on Sunday as they look to conquer the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll will surely be showing up with a robust game plan, and the Patriots are going to be without a key piece on defense in Christian Gonzalez. Can New England pull off the W and get new head coach Mike Vrabel off on the right foot?
Star wide receiver Stefon Diggs looks like he’s locked in. It’ll also be Diggs’ debut in a Patriots uniform, and he arrived to Gillette in swagger, channelling his inner Aerosmith with a rock-inspired fit.
Diggs and other receivers might not be as prominent on Sunday if rain perists, but the 31-year-old wideout will nonetheless have the opportunity to haul in a gigantic catch or two from second-year QB Drake Maye, who was ducking the rain as he arrived for work.
Maye will also have talented wideout DeMario Douglas at his disposal. Some feel that Douglas is being slept on entering the 2025 season, as he has the chance to be just as productive for New England as Diggs.
Douglas pulled up to Gillette looking unbothered by the weather.
It’s a huge day for the Patriots organization, no doubt. It might just be one game out of 17, but it’s hard not to quantify opening weekend in the NFL as a little more important than other stretches of the season, just because this is where teams start to forge their identity and gain (or lose) confidence about their chances moving forward.
If Maye and Co. can ball out on Sunday, New England fans will be rocking all into next week.
