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Sep 7, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) drops back to pass against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Patriots Stock Up/Stock Down After Week 1

Originally posted on New England Patriots on SI
By Ethan Hurwitz | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Mike Vrabel era with the New England Patriots is off to a shaky start, as a bad second half gave way en route to a 20-13 win by the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. There were. some shining moments to kick off the game, but once the sails were taken out of Gillette Stadium, the Patriots' play went along with it.

"We have to understand how sometimes these games are going to go," Vrabel said postgame. "We just didn't do enough in the second half. Give them credit. We certainly didn't do enough. We had too many missed opportunities, too many penalties, the turnover, and things that just -- didn't take advantage of bad football and then were able to have bad football ourselves. We're never going to accept winning. We have to embrace moving on."

Here's a look at a trio of Patriots who looked the part in the season opener, and a few who struggled in the first real game action of the fall.

Stock Up: CB Carlton Davis

Davis, in his first game in New England, was targeted six times. He only allowed two catches, the second of them was the one that eventually iced the win for Las Vegas. Before the long grab to seal the game, Davis was strong as the team's top cornerback -- registering four tackles and breaking up a pair of passes.

"I thought we settled down really well defensively," Vrabel said. "I thought the first drive was not our best, and then I thought we settled down. I thought they played well, and I thought they played hard. We just weren't able to make enough there in the end."

Stock Down: QB Drake Maye

Maye's season debut was up and down. The second-year gunslinger was accurate to start the game, helping manage the game and finding DeMario Douglas for the Patriots' first (and only) touchdown of the afternoon. Once the second half began, the Raiders began to implement a lot more stunts and edge pressure -- forcing Maye into some bad throws, including a costly interception. Maye didn't look comfortable at all in the final two quarters. Overall, the captain went 30-for-46 for 287 yards through the air.

"I think any NFL team they're going to try to adjust at halftime and just try to mix up looks," Maye said. "They're going to bring some all-out pressure in the second half, so just having answers and just being quicker. I think just being quicker and making more throws. I think it was maybe the second drive out where they messed up the kickoff and we had the ball on the 40, and I missed high over the middle on the first down, and then on the second down I had a chance. Just plays like that you don't realize that those plays are going to be the ones you look back on and feel like, man, if we hit those, it's a different ballgame."

Stock Up: WR Kayshon Boutte

With the Raiders' Jakobi Meyers shining on the other sideline, the Patriots' young wide receiver had himself a game of his own. Boutte nabbed six balls for a career-high 103 yards and was instantly Maye's top target throughout the game. When asked if he's continued to build his quarterback-wideout chemistry, Boutte gave a clear answer at the podium.

"Yes," Boutte said. "We have been working together since OTAs. Traveling from OTAs to training camp and keep putting in the work every day, day in and day out."

Stock Down: OT Will Campbell

In his first game in the NFL, Campbell looked the part until he didn't. The LSU rookie allowed two pressures, two hurries, a sack that led to a strip sack on Maye, as well as two penalties. Campbell's second penalty -- a costly false start on fourth down -- essentially forced the Patriots hand and gave way to the punting unit. Campbell was especially hard on himself in the locker room after the loss.

"We've just got to be better. It doesn't really matter about how I enjoyed my individual experience," Campbell said. "We didn't really win, so none of it really matters."

Stock Up: LB Harold Landry

Landry had an fantastic debut with the Patriots. He led the team in sacks in the losing effort -- and became the first New England player to register 2.5 sacks and five tackles in a season opener since Mike Vrabel in 2007. Not bad for a player who some viewed as an overpay this offseason.

"It's going to be to come in, be ready to work, make the corrections. You have to be hungry to improve, it's Week 1 -- nobody's going to be talking about this week in a couple weeks, you got to be ready to make the corrections, be critical of yourself, and find ways to improve," Landry said. "Find a way to be more consistent, Vrabes isn't going to change, he knows what it takes to win in this league, and he knows that the guys just got to come in here ready to work."

Stock Down: P Bryce Baringer

Baringer struggled in his first game of 2025. He punted the ball six times for 244 total yards, but his final one is the one that came up in Vrabel's postgame press conference. Down 10 points late in the fourth quarter, the Patriots opted to punt the ball instead of go for it on fourth down. When Baringer put foot to leather, the ball went straight out of the bounds for a total of 21 yards. Not how you win the field position battle.

"I made a decision on 4th-and-10 with close to five minutes to punt and would like a better punt, and we had them stopped, and that was the plan, and that didn't work," Vrabel said. "Then they hit one, and we just didn't have enough time there at the end to do anything. That was the decision that I thought was best for us at the time, and that didn't work out. But situationally we'll have to continue to improve. We moved the ball. We made the kick. We tried the onside. You just can't get down two scores late in the game."

This article first appeared on New England Patriots on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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