Pats Pulpit
Entering the first week of the regular season, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made his message clear for his football team: win the second half.
In Vrabel’s research, 12 of 16 teams who won the second half in the season opener in 2024 went on to win the game. At halftime Sunday, with the Patriots holding a 10-7 lead over the Las Vegas Raiders, they were in position to follow that trend.
Instead in a rainy Foxborough, things unraveled. The Raiders outscored New England 13-3 following the break, handing Vrabel a 20-13 loss in his Patriots coaching debut.
“It sure didn’t’s frustrating,” Vrabel responded when asked about his second-half emphasis. “We have to understand how sometimes these games are going to go. We just didn’t do enough in the second half. Give them credit. We certainly didn’t do enough. We had too many missed opportunities, too many penalties, the turnover, and things that just — didn’t take advantage of bad football and then were able to have bad football ourselves.”
The turning point came early in the third quarter. Drake Maye completed his first four passes after halftime and had the offense moving near midfield. But on second down, he was hit as he threw which left the ball fluttering into the arms of Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao.
Five plays later, Las Vegas scored to take a 14-10 lead they would never surrender.
“I think we’ve just got to be better. I think my decision on the first drive coming out was the one that killed the drive, and then from there, kind of from then on just got to get the first first down,” Maye explained. “I think once we get the first down, we moved the ball well and got in a rhythm, and I think it’s an adjustment from halftime. I think I’ve got to do a better job of getting the guys and making throws.”
From there, the Patriots’ offense stalled. Four straight drives ended in punts — two of them three-and-outs — as miscues piled up. Maye missed throws, protection broke down, and penalties set them behind the chains as the Raiders brought different pressures and mixed up their coverages on the back end.
In total, New England managed just 137 net yards in the second half, with 54 coming on a final hurry-up drive that resulted in a field goal.
“Just executing. Coming out in the half, obviously we had a little lull. You playing at a high level, down in and down out is what matters most,” Stefon Diggs said of the struggles. “Obviously we didn’t score to many points in the second half and they did, so that’s really what happened. But when it comes down to executing and everybody in on the details, I feel like that was the biggest thing. We just gotta consistently do it, take the practice habits to the field.”
After 24 hours of review the Patriots will flush the loss and turn the page...
