Drake Maye just turned a shaky September into one of the best two-week stretches any Patriots quarterback has had in years.
Drake Maye threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth score as the New England Patriots demolished the Las Vegas Raiders 45-17 on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The win gave New England consecutive victories and handed the Raiders their worst loss of the season.
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Drake Maye Patriots Raiders Performance Breaks Down the Game
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Maye finished 26 of 34 passing for 374 yards, four touchdown throws and zero interceptions. He also scored on the ground, giving him five total touchdowns on the afternoon. It was his second straight dazzling outing after New England opened the season 1-2 and Maye looked unsteady through September.
The Patriots piled up 536 total yards, their highest mark in a regular-season game since 2021. That kind of offensive explosion felt unthinkable just a few weeks earlier, when New England's passing attack sputtered and Maye managed only one touchdown through his first three games. Over his last two games combined, he now has eight total touchdowns, a stunning turnaround by any measure.
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How the Patriots Raiders Game Unfolded Quarter by Quarter
Las Vegas entered the day 3-1 with a defense that had been generating pressure and an offense that had found ways to win close games. None of that showed up on Sunday. The Raiders opened with a three-and-out, and New England wasted no time making them pay. Maye spotted a busted coverage and hit DeMario Douglas for a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter, setting the tone early.
Rhamondre Stevenson punched in a five-yard rushing touchdown to keep the drives rolling. Before halftime, Maye connected with Hunter Henry on back-to-back plays covering 37 yards for another score, stretching New England's lead and taking the air out of the Raiders' sideline. Later in the game, Maye found receiver Kyle Williams for a 34-yard touchdown, then closed out his big day with a second touchdown pass to Douglas, pushing the score to its final 45-17 margin. Andres Borregales added a 28-yard field goal after the Patriots forced a late Las Vegas fumble, a small but telling detail that showed New England controlling every phase of the game by the fourth quarter.
Raiders Offense and Defense Both Collapse at Gillette Stadium
The Raiders' own team website described the loss in blunt terms, saying everything Las Vegas had done well through its first four games "vanished" at Gillette Stadium. That is a striking admission from an organization that had looked like a legitimate playoff contender just one week earlier. Quarterback Kirk Cousins faced steady pressure all game, and the Raiders' pass rush, usually a strength, barely touched Maye, who threw the Douglas touchdown with no pressure from the front according to the team's own recap.
Las Vegas also gave rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza his NFL debut during the blowout, though the moment was overshadowed by the scoreboard. Missed tackles let New England's running game find room it hadn't found all season, and coverage breakdowns turned into explosive plays for the Patriots. The Raiders' 17 points marked their lowest scoring output of the year, a sharp fall for a team that had been scoring efficiently through its first four weeks.
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New England's turnaround traces back to its upset win over Buffalo the week before, which seemed to flip a switch for Maye and the offense. Against the Raiders, five different Patriots pass catchers topped 40 receiving yards, with four clearing 55, a sign that Maye is no longer leaning on one favorite target. That kind of spread-out production makes an offense much harder to defend, and it showed all afternoon as Las Vegas never found an answer.
The Boston Globe called it a convincing win that kept New England's momentum rolling after the Buffalo result, while The Athletic noted that for a second straight week, Maye looked far closer to the MVP-runner-up form he flashed last season than the quarterback who struggled in September. The Patriots' own game notes highlighted the five-touchdown day with a simple, direct headline, a nod to just how complete the performance was.
What the Drake Maye Patriots Raiders Result Means Going Forward
Two straight wins, 45 points, 536 total yards and a quarterback suddenly playing with no turnovers and total command of the offense, that is the clearest evidence yet that New England's early-season struggles may be behind them. The Raiders, meanwhile, now have real questions to answer about their pass rush, their tackling and their coverage communication after their best qualities disappeared in one afternoon.
Specific details about New England's next opponent and Las Vegas's response plan were not available in the confirmed reporting from Sunday's game. What is clear is the shift in direction for both teams. The Patriots look like a team trending up fast, while the Raiders face a tough film session after their most lopsided defeat of the season.
