The Mike Vrabel era is off to a lukewarm start.
While we can chart some positive moments for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s regular-season opener, there were far more negatives than positives in their 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots got torched by 34-year-old quarterback Geno Smith for 362 passing yards and were out-classed at home by an opponent firmly in their wheelhouse. Overall, the performance left plenty to second-guess, from in-game decisions to others made weeks ago on roster cut-down day.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the brutal from New England’s Week 1 setback.