The Patriots enter their Week 1 matchup with the Raiders under a lot of pressure for several reasons, one of which is the hope of several that Josh McDaniels will exact revenge against the team that fired him while he was out with his kids on Halloween in 2023. But the biggest cause of pressure is starting the season off on the right foot to set the tone for a very telling year.
There is a reason Mike Vrabel was hired after a failed one off year under Jerod Mayo. Robert Kraft wants to see the team get back to being a competitive group that can make the Super Bowl sooner rather than later, so getting a win in Week 1 is crucial.