Final, Patriots 16-9: Vince Wilfork comes up huge with a game-clinching interception.
The Raiders were threatening in the red zone after the refs called Logan Ryan for pass interference. It looked like it should have been offensive pass interference, if anything.
The Raiders scored on their next play, but rookie Gabe Jackson was called for holding. Carr’s next pass bounced off Ryan and into Wilfork’s waiting arms.
Tom Brady kneeled on the ball, the clock ran out and the Patriots escaped with the win.
Fourth quarter, 5:18, Patriots 16-9: The Patriots’ defense forced a three-and-out, and their offense has a chance to put this game away with another touchdown.
Fourth quarter, 6:20, Patriots 16-9: Another drive, another field goal.
The Patriots made a change on their offensive line, bringing in Bryan Stork to replace Jordan Devey. The Patriots’ offense started moving down the field, but they couldn’t finish, settling for three more points from Stephen Gostkowski.
The Patriots have a touchdown lead over the Raiders, but this game has presented far more answers than questions, especially on offense.
Fourth quarter, 11:15, Patriots 13-9: The Patriots’ defense held up when it needed to.
On 3rd and 1, Ninkovich, Mayo, Chung and Chandler Jones made a big run stuff to hold Latavius Murray to no gain.
The Patriots have the ball on their own 19-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 13:42, Patriots 13-9: The Patriots responded to the Raiders’ field goal with their own 3 points.
The Patriots got within 2 yards on a end zone and Vereen ran the ball for no gain, and Gronkowski and Amendola suffered drops. Gronkowski’s came after a Charles Woodson tip, and Amendola’s on a dive.
The Patriots will likely come away with the win in this game, but they don’t deserve it.
End third quarter, Patriots 10-9: The Patriots are shuffling down the field. They have the ball on the Raiders’ 12-yard line. The biggest play of the drive so far has been a 16-yard hookup between Brady and Thompkins.
Third quarter, 2:21, Patriots 10-9: The Raiders settled for another field goal after a costly false start.
Any quality NFL team would have a two-touchdown lead over the Patriots right now. Darrelle Revis has allowed four completions for 45 yards, which is surprising. He was great through two games.
Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan has been abused in this game.
Defensive end Chandler Jones hasn’t generated pressure, but he has two deflections at the line of scrimmage.
The Patriots need to score. Another Raiders field goal will put them ahead — maybe for good.
Third quarter, 6:09, Patriots 10-6: The Patriots’ offense continues to be anemic. Brady is now 16 for 22 with 112 yards. Edelman has 59 of those yards on eight completions.
The Patriots are averaging just 3.0 yards per carry against the Raiders’ last-ranked run defense.
The Patriots probably are going to win this game, but it’s not quelling any concerns about their struggling offense.
Third quarter, 9:39, Patriots 10-6: The Raiders are within a touchdown after hitting another field goal.
The Patriots are lucky they have a 4-point lead. They’re allowing the Raiders to drive down the field, and it’s only Oakland’s mistakes that are keeping it out of the end zone.
Tom Brady has to have another quarter like he did in the second. The Patriots won’t be able to beat better teams like the Colts or Broncos with a performance like this.
Third quarter, 12:52, Patriots 10-3: Yikes. Another three-and-out for the Patriots.
It went pass to Edelman, 3-yard loss on a Ridley run, false start and a sack. The Raiders have the ball at the Patrots’ 48-yard line.
Patriots nose tackle Sealver Siliga is OUT with a foot injury.
End half, Patriots 10-3: The Patriots nearly left points on the board after some questionable clock management. They had 8 seconds to get a play off and kick a field goal without any timeouts. The snap came in low and Brady had to scramble to pick up the ball and throw an incomplete pass.
Brady is 12 of 17 for 76 yards with a touchdown at the half. Derek Carr is 13 for 18 with 76 yards.
Second quarter, 2:00, Patriots 7-3: The Patriots have made it 12 yards in 45 seconds. Edelman now has five catches for 43 yards.
Second quarter, 2:45, Patriots 7-3: Well, that drive didn’t take long.
The Patriots forced a three-and-out and have the ball at the 50-yard line after a home-field bounce off the Gillette Stadium turf.
Second quarter, 4:14, Patriots 7-3: The Patriots are on the board, Tom Brady has passing yards and all is right in the world again.
Brady hit Gronk for a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Edelman picked up 33 yards on four receptions on that drive. The Patriots have 45 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Second quarter, 11:43, Raiders 3-0: The Patriots had a nice defensive stand and forced a Raiders punt. With nearly 12 minutes left in the half, the Patriots have a good chance to break this game open with a big offensive drive.
Tom Brady, 3 for 5 for 0 yards, is itching for some production right now.
End first quarter, Raiders 3-0: Maybe the Patriots will start to show some life now that the first quarter is over. They came out looking dead on offense and defense. They’re lucky the Raiders are terrible. This game would probably be 21-0 against a good team.
First quarter, :36, Raiders 3-0: Yuck. Ugly offensive drive for the Patriots. They wound up punting on 4th and 21.
The Patriots found some success early by running the ball, then the penalties started coming, and they got backed up deep.
Brady is 3-for-5 passing for 0 yards. He hasn’t targeted Gronk or Edelman yet.
First quarter, 4:37, Raiders 3-0: The Patriots haven’t looked too sharp on offense or defense so far. Penalties halted the Raiders’ drive and they were forced to kick a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.
Chandler Jones deflected Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr’s pass at the line on 3rd and 14 to hold Oakland.
Patriots starting nose tackle Sealver Siliga suffered a foot injury. He’s questionable to return. Chris Jones replaced him on the line.
First quarter, 10:47: The Patriots went three-and-out. Rob Gronkowski drew his first start of the season.
Brady threw incomplete passes to LaFell and Vereen. He completed a 4-yard bubble screen to LaFell, his first catch of the season.
First quarter, 11:44: The Patriots forced a Raiders punt on the first drive of the game.
Jamie Collins made a nice run stop on second down, and Kyle Arrington came up with an impressive pass breakup on a pass intended for Denarius Moore.
Logan Ryan, Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Vince Wilfork, Sealver Siliga, Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Dont’a Hightower, Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins made up the starting defense. They opened in a 4-3 and showed a 4-3 over look.
In nickel, Dominique Easley and Arrington came on the field for Siliga and Collins.
First quarter, 15:00: We’re minutes away from kickoff here. Vince Wilfork, Matthew Slater, Jerod Mayo, Dan Connolly and Devin McCourty have taken the field for the coin toss.
The Patriots won the toss, chose to defer and will kick off to start the game.
12:37 p.m.: Mark Wahlberg is hanging out on the Patriots’ sideline. He greeted Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. He also shook the refs’ hands. Maybe he slipped in a C-note?
[tweet https://twitter.com/DougKyedNESN/status/513728294014160898 align=center]
12:28 p.m.: Bill Belichick told 98.5 The Sports Hub that he interviewed with Al Davis for the Raiders head coach job in 1998. The Raiders hired Jon Gruden instead, and the rest is history.
12:16 p.m.: Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo just took the field in full uniform to Jay Z’s “Public Service Announcement.”
Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman are hauling in punts. Matthew Slater is taking kicks with Shane Vereen and Patrick Chung.
12:13 p.m.: The Raiders are allowing 200 yards per game on the ground, but this could be a perfect opportunity for the Patriots to get their passing game going. Brady needs to prove some doubters wrong this week.
12:04 p.m.: For those wondering, LaFell contributes more in special teams and as a blocker than Dobson, which is why the free-agent addition is active and the second-year pro isn’t.
LaFell and Danny Amendola were held catchless last week, but Brady attempted 21 passes and completed just 14 of them. It’s not a big surprise that his No. 5 and 6 targets didn’t haul in any passes.
11:47 a.m.: Wide receiver Aaron Dobson, defensive end Zach Moore, cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, safety Don Jones, guard Josh Kline, center Ryan Wendell and running back James White are inactive for the Patriots.
Cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, running back Maurice Jones-Drew, linebackers Sio Moore and Nick Roach, quarterback Matt Schaub and offensive linemen Matt McCants and Tony Bergstrom are inactive for the Raiders.
11:30 a.m.: If you’re looking for some pregame reading, check out why Tom Brady has been “keying in on” Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.
Also, check out how Brady is helping Brandon LaFell get acquainted with the Patriots’ offense.
11 a.m. ET: Welcome to the New England Patriots’ 2014 home opener.
It’s a beautiful, unseasonably warm day in Foxboro with temperatures in the high 70s. The Oakland Raiders have taken the Gillette Stadium field in sweats for warmups.
Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins (questionable) appears to be a game-time decision. He missed last week’s game with a thigh injury, and he’s going through drills with the training staff. If Collins can’t play, the Patriots likely will replace him with rookie linebacker Deontae Skinner and defensive lineman Chris Jones, depending on the Raiders’ offensive personnel.
Running back Shane Vereen (questionable with a shoulder injury) is expected to play, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning. That doesn’t come as a surprise, since Vereen finished last week’s game.
Defensive end Michael Buchanan (questionable with an ankle injury) also worked out with trainers. He has missed the first two weeks of the season and would serve as valuable depth behind Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich.
