LAS VEGAS — The New England Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in heartbreaking, unprecedented fashion Sunday.
Chandler Jones returned an ill-advised desperation lateral by Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers 48 yards for a walk-off game-winning touchdown as Josh McDaniels’ Raiders prevailed 30-24 at Allegiant Stadium.
Meyers took a downfield pitch from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and fired a backward pass across the field. Jones recovered and ran through a tackle attempt by Patriots quarterback Mac Jones as time expired. Had Stevenson or Meyers gone down, the game would have gone to overtime.
The loss dropped the Patriots, who had practiced in Arizona during the leadup to Sunday’s game, to 7-7 on the season, putting their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy with three games remaining.
Here are six at-the-whistle takeaways:
1. Controversial comeback
The Raiders pulled even in the final minute of regulation on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Keelan Cole, who was matched up against rookie cornerback Marcus Jones.
Cole’s toe appeared to touch down out of bounds as he completed the catch, but the on-field call stood upon video review, with officials not finding conclusive evidence to reverse it.
Before their game-tying drive, the Raiders had gained just two first downs in the second half, and the Patriots had scored 21 unanswered points to erase a 14-point halftime deficit, with Stevenson scoring a go-ahead 34-yard touchdown with 3:43 remaining.
2. Run the damn ball
Stevenson missed two practices this week and was limited in another as he recovered from an ankle injury. You wouldn’t have known it by watching him Sunday.
The Las Vegas native ran over, around and through the Raiders’ defense, finishing with 192 rushing yards and averaging 9.1 yards per carry. Before his go-ahead score, the most important of those was a 26-yard gallop from his own 2-yard line that kick-started a drive that produced a field goal.
The Patriots did limit Stevenson’s workload, though, and with running mate Damien Harris inactive with a thigh injury, rookies Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris again stepped up in larger roles. Harris rushed five times for 19 yards, and Strong finished with four carries for 25 yards and three catches on three targets for 12 yards. As a team, the Patriots averaged 6.4 yards per carry.
3. Erratic Mac
Given how poorly the Patriots performed in the passing game, that ground-game output was necessary.
Mac Jones went just 13-for-31 for 112 yards and misfired on several throws, including one to an open Jonnu Smith that should have resulted in a touchdown. Jones had first-quarter completions of 11 and 13 yards to Smith and 21 yards to rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton, and a third-quarter checkdown to Strong that gained 11. Outside of those, the second-year quarterback didn’t have a pass that gained more than 5 yards until a late 39-yard bomb to Meyers that set up Stevenson’s go-ahead score.
Jones’ best throw of the day — a dime down the left sideline to Nelson Agholor — nearly resulted in a 32-yard pickup, but officials correctly ruled that Agholor did not get both feet down in bounds. Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry both dropped passes on third down.
The Patriots did attack downfield at times, but their game plan again featured a heavy dose of screen passes, which have featured prominently ever since Jones returned from his high ankle sprain in late October.
Overall, this was one Jones’ worst games as a pro. He posted career lows in completion rate (41.9%) and yards per attempt (3.6), and his yardage total was the second-lowest of any game he’s started and finished. The only one lower: last year’s Buffalo wind game, during which he attempted just three passes.
4. Red-zone ugliness
The Patriots’ offensive issues — from execution to play-calling to poor discipline — were on full display during their lone visit to the Raiders’ red zone. After Meyers drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set New England up at the 1-yard line, the following sequence ensued:
— Stevenson stuffed on an inside handoff
— Jones overthrows an open Smith in the end zone
— Jones hits Meyers for an over-the-shoulder touchdown, but it’s negated because the Patriots called timeout before the snap
— Cornerback Amik Robertson (whom the Patriots repeatedly targeted throughout the game) breaks up a pass to Agholor
— Patriots call a second timeout
— Jones crosses the goal line on a QB sneak but snaps the ball before Smith was set, resulting in a false start
— Patriots settle for a chip-shot field goal
On three of those plays, the Patriots did not have a viable rushing threat in the backfield — a questionable decision mere feet from the end zone. On two, they had cornerback/wide receiver Marcus Jones lined up at running back. On the other, they had Stevenson aligned behind Jones but motioned him out.
5. Special teams breakdown proves costly
The Patriots looked poised to enter halftime down just 10-3 — a manageable deficit, especially since they’d be receiving the second-half kickoff. But with 35 seconds remaining in the half, linebacker Malcolm Koonce shot past Jabrill Peppers and Adrian Phillips to block a Michael Palardy punt, giving the Raiders possession deep in Patriots territory.
The blunder was the result of some sort of miscommunication, as Peppers was turned away from the defense and gesturing to Phillips as long snapper Joe Cardon snapped the ball.
The Patriots then committed defensive penalties on back-to-back plays — illegal contact on Jonathan Jones and holding on Peppers — before Hollins beat Bryant for a 5-yard touchdown that put Vegas ahead 17-3.
6. Kyle Dugger, playmaker
Dugger gave the reeling Patriots a much-needed jolt in the opening minutes of the second half. The third-year safety undercut a Carr pass to Adams and waltzed into the end zone for a pick-six.
It was Dugger’s second defensive touchdown of the season and the third he’d been involved in. He also forced the fumble that linebacker Raekwon McMillan returned for a touchdown in last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Patriots sacked Carr three times and held All-Pro wideout Davante Adams to four catches for 28 yards despite missing injured cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Jack Jones.
