The Raiders somehow pulled out their second straight win over the New England Patriots. That statement actually has a double meaning: Not only does this make two wins in a row for Las Vegas, but it also makes two years in a row where Josh McDaniels’ Raiders have defeated his former boss, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots.
We will discuss the ramifications of this victory, and more, during this week’s knee-jerk reactions.
Is Bill Belichick ‘Washed’?
The Patriots do not look like they once did. Obviously Tom Brady was a big part of it, but this is something that goes deeper than that. Remember, Belichick once went 11-5 with Matt Cassell at quarterback. Also, the Patriots made the playoffs with current quarterback Mac Jones just a few years ago.
Unfortunately, Jones has regressed significantly since then. However, this entire team looks like it has regressed. One has to wonder if their six-time Super Bowl champion head coach has lost his fastball.
Right now, his team is banged up, on top of being in the midst of a mini rebuild. Nonetheless, this has not looked like a typical Belichick team. A big reason why the Raiders won on Sunday was because their opponents made a litany of unforced errors. In most Raiders games, it is usually the other way around.
That was especially the case for most of the Belichick-era in New England.
Something is different lately in Foxboro. The Patriots look like just a regular, mediocre football team. At some point it was bound to happen. Eventually, all great coaches begin to lose touch with the current generation of players. That might have begun to happen for the legendary New England coach.
Losing two years in a row to this version of the Raiders seems like solid evidence.
Winning Hasn’t Made the Raiders any Less Boring
These last two weeks should’ve been fun and exciting. The Raiders have won two in a row and are now back to .500; yet, it is still difficult to feel much of anything.
Watching Jimmy Garoppolo check the ball down to Josh Jacobs for the umpteenth time is just not fun. Yes, it works, but it gets difficult to watch these games each week when you know you probably won’t even see five total touchdowns all game.
Las Vegas’ offense, while effective to an extent, is predictable and devoid of any explosiveness. It took Brian Hoyer coming into the game for us to see a deep completion. No, that is not a typo.
Defensively, the Raiders are playing very well – however, the big plays are still few and far between. They are at least happening this year, but only after you get lulled to sleep by the defense conceding a bunch of easy yards.
Yes, the team is winning. That is great. But is anyone really having fun? Hopefully they can keep grinding out these positive results. If and when that stops happening, Las Vegas could quickly become impossible to watch.
That said, there is one player that is still worth tuning in to see…
Maxx Crosby is Box Office
I know we talked about him a lot last week, but it just wasn’t enough. Every time the Raiders’ defense takes the field, you cannot take your eyes off of number 98. You never know when he is going to do something incredible.
Crosby makes even the most innocuous and routine plays look impressive. The defense can be running a toss to the opposite side of the field, but you can’t help but get distracted by watching “The Condor” chase the play down from behind. New England did everything possible to neutralize him today and it just didn’t matter.
You can chip him, double him, run at him, run away from him; Crosby still finds a way to be disruptive.
For the first time in a long time, the Raiders are winning because of their defense. Crosby is a huge part of that. While the games themselves have not been all that exciting, Crosby remains a blast to watch. We might be witnessing a Hall of Fame career unfold before our eyes.
*Top Photo: Benjamin Hegar/Las Vegas Review-Journal