Remember when the schedule was released, and Pats @ Raiders, the Belichick vs. McDaniels Bowl 2, got a nice plum pre-Christmas Sunday Night Football slot? A whole nation, eager for the most exciting and anticipated holiday week of the year, would gather round the family LCD screen to see a beast from the East take on a contender from the West with playoff-hopeful Mac Jones leading his squad into battle against his former mentor and coordinator, now armed with a fleet of talented offensive playmakers clad in silver and black. Belichick would seek to show his master’s touch greater than that of his apprentice, now in his second stint as a head coach. Sin City would be awash in holiday decor, glitz, glamour, Pats fans and mass media looking to cover one of the games of the year, set off The Strip at a fancy new stadium with a nightclub in the end zone.
My, how so much can change in so little time.
Patriots at Raiders still has plenty of intrigue for fans of both teams, and a few others in the conference looking for a playoff picture to come into greater focus. But the powers that be on the national level decided that a rematch of Giants vs Commanders would be more compelling, thus the game was moved to the 4pm slot, on a different network. In fact more households will likely be able to watch Dallas @ Jacksonville than New England @ Las Vegas. Robert Kraft can’t be happy about that.
Reality is these two teams are still capable of playing an entertaining football game, with compelling storylines aplenty, but they've earned their broadcast relegation. The Patriots…well, you know their deal, their drama and recent dysfunction. Still they have a winning record and a win Sunday would do far more important things than knock their former offensive guru down a peg. A win would keep them in control of their own postseason fate at 8-6, with the chance to possibly move up the ranks, depending on how other teams like Miami and Cincinnati fare. How you feel about the Pats’ postseason chances is for another preview or column altogether. BYOB.
The 2022 Pats beat the bad teams…the teams with the backup QBs…the teams who make that one extra poor coaching decision…the ones insistent on beating themselves. The 2022 Las Vegas Raiders do not have a backup QB, in fact they have a good one in Derek Carr, who will likely have many of his treasured targets back in tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow. However Josh McDaniels, in his first year in his second head coaching job, has had many more downs than ups. These Raiders will most likely miss the playoffs, and face an offseason of questions aplenty. But they do own one distinction in this disappointing inaugural campaign for Josh and his legion of ex-Pats, as the Raiders are the first team in NFL history to blow and lose four games in which they held leads of 10 points or more at halftime. Impressive for sure…just the wrong kind. But Pats fans can take heart that their team has a chance should Davante Adams hang a few early TDs on a banged up New England secondary. Maybe Belichick can lavish him with praise and get in his head like he did DeAndre Hopkins this past Monday in Arizona.
Here’s hoping for an entertaining affair that lives up to the reduced hype on a smaller platform. The scene will be surreal. The Raider faithful will be decked out in battle attire, while Pats fans invade with inflated pride and seasonal joy. Elvis impersonators will still be decked out in Santa hats. Plenty of naughty elves will be littered about the tailgates at Allegiant Stadium, and footbal’s original Grinch, Bill Belichick, will have his gameface on next to his Island of Misfit Coaches. The Pats enter the game as one point favorites. In this game of AFC roulette we’ll see if things come up red for Mac…or black, and silver.
What do we know? Let’s check in with the experts to gauge their feelings on this uniquely unusual and still highly contested affair. On the local front…
The Boston Globe staff was surprisingly split on Pats @ Raiders!
And CBS Boston’s Michael Hurley believes in miracles! And the Pats prevailing.
Meanwhile, nationally…
The experts at Bleacher Report were all in favor of the Pats.
SI’s MMQB was slightly in favor (3-2) for the Raiders.
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal likes the Raiders to win.
The NY Times believes the Raiders are the pick.
The Sporting News likes the Pats to win and cover.
The Athletic says the master gets the better of the apprentice, go with the Pats.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports likes the Pats to cover in a high scoring affair.
The Ringer says the Pats are the pick!
SB Nation’s experts and prognosticators preferred the Pats.
Both Florio and MDS at ProFootballTalk like the Pats to win.
Our pick? An exciting, stressful, down to the wire game, imperfectly played but worthy of the billing, hype and timeslot it originally held, with the Patriots coming out on top as the lesser offender, 23-20. Hardly another statement game or get right affair for the Pats, but we’re officially in “a win is a win” territory, especially with Wild Card considerations at hand, and once again the Pats make fewer mistakes than their opponent, a team that finds new and amazing ways to shoot themselves in the football each week.
Win or lose don’t forget to tune into The 6 Rings Postgame Show, immediately following the conclusion of Pats @ Raiders on WEEI.
