9 Patriots takeaways from costly loss to Raiders

LAS VEGAS — The Patriots had the ball late with a chance to win in Las Vegas, but ultimately, Mac Jones and the offense kicked into reverse.

Bill Belichick fell to his longtime understudy, Josh McDaniels, 21-17 and the Patriots dropped to 1-5 on the season. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with Buffalo and Miami looming, so New England’s free fall could continue through the rest of October.

There was plenty to learn at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday afternoon though. Here are nine takeaways from Las Vegas:

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1. Late chance falls short

Trailing by two points with 2:23 remaining, Mac Jones got the ball back at the Patriots 9-yard line with a chance to engineer a game-winning drive. Ultimately, the Patriots offense went backwards, and a Maxx Crosby safety handed the Raiders a 21-17 win.

“Definitely frustrating, but just have to watch it all and learn, and watch it with truthful eyes.,” Jones said. “That’s all you can do and it just wasn’t clean enough across the board. There’s penalties and all sorts of things we need to clean up. It’s hard to win like that, and I’m definitely frustrated for sure.”

2. Line breakdowns continue

As New England’s offensive line continues to struggle, a late safety was a fitting end to Sunday’s game. On a third-and-15, tight end Mike Gesicki and tackle Vederian Lowe were tasked with Crosby, a Pro Bowl edge rusher. It didn’t go well. Gesicki whiffed on a chip block, Lowe couldn’t recover, and Crosby hauled Jones down as defensive tackle Bilal Nichols was getting there too. He’d beaten rookie guard Atonio Mafi on another stunt.

“That was an out-of-body experience,” Crosby said. “It was incredible.”

3. Parker can’t haul in the deep ball

A play before the safety, the Patriots opted for a deep shot down the left sideline. The route started well, as Jones had a clean pocket and DeVante Parker ran past cornerback Jakorian Bennett. He also had a step on safety Marcus Epps, who was darting across the field. Jones lofted a beautiful ball that travelled 45 yards in the air, but it bounced off Parker’s fingers, and the wideout couldn’t haul the pass in.

“Probably hit my fingertips, I think,” Parker said. “But I didn’t get a full grasp of it.”

Added Jones: “DP is a great deep ball threat and we kind of agreed that we wanted that route. So, just tough play. If it goes one way, we might go down there and win. If it goes the other way, we didn’t. It’s just tough.”

4. Another slow start

Stop if you’ve heard this one before: The Patriots spotted their opponent a double digit first half lead. When Jakobi Meyers scored in the second quarter — more on him in a moment — it marked the fifth time in six games this season that New England has trailed by at least 10 points before halftime. It’s an impossible way for any teams to win football games, let alone ones as starved for offensive explosiveness as the Patriots.

5. And another INT for Jones

For the third straight game, Jones threw a befuddling interception. The quarterback broke free from the pocket in the second quarter, and rolling to his right, threw off his back foot and across his body. Jones’ pass sailed well over Hunter Henry’s head and into the arms of Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig.

“I didn’t make a good throw,” Jones said. “I was just trying to do too much and they got three points from it, and that sits on me.”

6. Jakobi puts salt in the wound

Old friend Jakobi Meyers scored the first touchdown of the afternoon, finding a soft spot in the Patriots defense and hauling in a 12-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo early in the second quarter.

“I think they might have busted on that (coverage),” Meyers said. “I ended up getting a one-on-one with outside leverage, I knew what he was trying to defend, and I tried to send him that way.”

Meyers finished with five catches for 61 yards and consistently helped the Raiders offense move the chains.

7. Zeke a bright spot

Ezekiel Elliott is finding his form. The veteran running back found the end zone on a direct snap, and finished with 34 yards on seven carries. He also broke a 74-yard touchdown reception that would have been New England’s most explosive play of the season, but it was called back because of a Hunter Henry hold.

“I feel really good,” Elliott said told MassLive’s Mark Daniels. “I feel like I’m in great shape – finally in that game shape and getting things rolling.”

8. Peppers brings the thump

Jabrill Peppers delivered what should have been a momentum-shifting turnover in the first quarter. With All Pro Davante Adams reeling in a pass from Jimmy Garoppolo, Peppers absolutely leveled him. The bone-rattling hit sent the ball up in the air, Jahlani Tavai reeled it in, and the Patriots were in business — until the offense responded with a three-and-out.

:“Contagious tenacity, for sure,” Ja’Whaun Bentley said of Peppers. “Bro is definitely one of those bell cow kind of players, do anything you ask him to do, whether it’s defense, special teams. We all know how valuable he is to the team as far as his versatility in general and the physicality that he brings to this team as well.”

9. Malik gets into the mix

In his NFL debut, Malik Cunningham saw snaps at both quarterback and wide receiver. He didn’t throw a pass, and was clobbered in his one dropback, but was on the field for Elliott’s touchdown. Cunningham lined up at quarterback, but then motioned out of the backfield, giving Elliott a lighter box to run into.

Belichick wouldn’t commit to him as the backup quarterback moving forward though.

“We’re just talking about this game,” Belichick said.