New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots obviously were hoping for a better result in the season opener, but they’re trying to keep perspective.
New England fell 20-13 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Gillette Stadium in its first game of the season. Despite an encouraging opening 30 minutes, the Patriots were undone by a mistake-filled second half.
Though there are plenty of holdovers on the roster, the 2025 Patriots feature a revamped roster. Preseason game action can’t emulate that of the regular season, so there was sure to be some bumpiness along the way.
Robert Spillane — who signed with the Patriots from the Raiders over the offseason and briefly played under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee — shared what the message was in the locker room after the game.
“We do have a long road ahead of us. It is a brand new team, brand new year,” Spillane said, via a team-provided transcript. “This is one game. We have a big week ahead of us to bounce back from for Miami.”
Indeed, the Dolphins could be a pretty soft landing for the Patriots. Miami got trounced 33-8 by the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
