The New England Patriots lose their third game in a row after they come up short 21-17 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

The Las Vegas Raiders opened to an early 10-0 lead, after a 25-yard field goal and 12-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to Jakobi Meyers. New England would respond by traveling 57 yards down field to set up a 43-yard field goal for Chad Ryland.

Following a Raiders punt, Mac Jones would throw an interception directly to Travis Moehrig, which helped Las Vegas score another field goal late in the 1^st half. The Raiders entered halftime with a 13-3 lead.

The Patriots received the ball to begin the 2^nd half and took advantage of the possession. New England marched 75 yards down the field and capped off the drive with an Ezekiel Elliot 2-yard TD rush to shorten the deficit to 13-10.

On the next possession, Las Vegas would extend the lead again following the Patriots score. After Brain Hoyer completed a 48-yard pass to Tre Tucker, the Raiders settled for 3, as Daniel Carlson made 30-yard field goal to push the score to 16-10.

Las Vegas forced New England to punt on the following possession and travel down field to score yet another field goal in the redzone. The Raiders led 19-10 with 13:03 left in the game.

New England responded to the Raiders score by going on a drive that lasted over 9 minutes. The drive was capped off with a Rhamondre Stevenson 1-yard TD rush to make it a 2-point game with 3:33 remaining.

Following the Patriots’ touchdown, the defense forced the Raiders to punt to give the offense a chance to win the game.

After a holding penalty that pushed the Patriots 8 yards back, Mac Jones threw a perfect deep ball that was dropped by Devante Parker, which would have put them near field goal range. Two plays later, Jones dropped back again, this time to be sacked in the endzone by Maxx Crosby and Bilal Nichols for a safety ending the comeback opportunity.

Offense Shows Improvement

The New England Patriots struggled against the Raiders defense but displayed improvement after their shut-out defeat to the New Orleans Saints last week. The Patriots managed to gain 259 total yards and score their first touchdown in two games.

“I thought we ran the ball good,” said David Andrews. “We were able to play ahead on down and distance, run the ball, didn’t hurt ourselves with penalties”.

Quarterback Mac Jones had issues in the 1^st half, throwing an interception in the 2^nd quarter, but managed to bounce later in the game. Jones threw for 200 yards on 24/33 passing and led the Patriots down field to score twice in the 2^nd half.

“I definitely need to improve, but [you] got to keep swinging,” said Mac Jones.

Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliot also played important roles on offense combining for 80 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

Kendrick Bourne added 10 receptions for 89 yards.

Though New England’s offense had an upgraded performance compared to the last two weeks, they still managed to lose late in the game due to mistakes made in the 1^st half. So far this season, New England is 1-3 in one score games.

“Had a chance to win, [I] thought we competed hard all game,” said Andrews. “Didn’t play our best football when it mattered the most. Just got to do a better job”.

Injuries Continue to Pile

The New England Patriots are still being bit by the injury bug as Keion White, Hunter Henry, Josh Uche, Jonathan Jones, and Rhamondre Stevenson all suffered injuries on Sunday. White, Uche, and Jones did not return to the game.

Injuries continue to affect the Patriots performance on defense, as they are already without their best pass-rushers and multiple cornerbacks.

Against the Las Vegas Raiders, New England allowed 264 passing yards and 84 rushing yards. The Raiders also entered the redzone six times.

Up Next

Next Week the New England Patriots return home to take on the Buffalo Bills. While the Las Vegas Raiders travel to Chicago to matchup with the Bears.