Some thoughts and observations on the Patriots 36 – 20 Win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Foxboro:

First, apologies for not posting on Week 2: Battle in Seattle. The site was down with technical issues and once resolved, the takes were colder than my 1st pumpkin beer of the season. My type A-minus personality is moving on to the Raiders.

It was another gorgeous Fall day that felt like Summer in New England. If I didn’t know what comes after it, Fall would be my favorite time of year and a 1pm home game for the Patriots is a major reason why. I’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte and don’t feel I’ve missed out, but I do love Fall flavors, so when I came across seasonal apple cider flavored seltzer it made perfect sense to mix up a batch of *skinny* apple cideritas for the game. Dangerously delicious, especially during an early game, but we’re only guaranteed 16 of these per year so each one is cause for cheer(s).

Here’s what stood out:

The NFL allowed teams to raise the volume on the fake crowd noise pumped in during the game and I didn’t really notice except when it sounded like Boo’s raining down from the invisible Foxboro Faithful before the end of the 1st quarter.

It was a fairly ugly start, and fans are allowed to express their frustration, but I’d like to think real Pats fans would cut the team a little more slack. Maybe I’m just a giant homer

And it sure wasn’t pretty watching our D get gouged by Joshua Jacobs, but they held on and kept the Raiders out of the end zone

There were a few times Cam Newton looked flustered and panicky and its never a good thing when I’m cheering for a great punt, so when with 6:20 left in the 1st I noted “we look bad/ I don’t have a good feeling about this one” Pats fans, you are welcome because immediately after that the defense had a sweet fumble recovery and momentum shifted

How much does Jon Gruden hate Foxboro? I’m guessing its a LOT since it looked like maybe that fumble was recovered by Vegas and we got the call, but I’ll take it all day

Terrible interception by Cam into triple coverage, but great job by the D holding them to 3 points

Zuber? Who?! You really never know who or what Bill Belichick is gonna pull out of the supply closet

J.J. Taylor continuing to impress, Sony Michel taking his game to the next level both running and catching passes, and Rex Burkhead getting himself a hat trick on the day. The backs really carried the team in this one

And its interesting to note that through the first 3 games of the season we’ve seen really 3 different approaches. Week 1 was tons of Cam running and RPO plays; Week 2 lots of Newton passing was almost enough to win; Week 3 showed that the team can win even if Cam doesn’t have to be Superman. Love to see it

Can’t say enough about the Defense, especially after the half. Winovitch continues to be a disruptive and opportunistic force and Derek Rivers is turning into a beast

Speaking of Dereks, Derek Carr looks really…INTENSE.

As frustrating as the 1st half was to watch the team struggle to move the ball, sticking with the run game paid off and helped sell the play action that took over in the second half. Along with some excellent blocking up front and from the receivers

Huge credit goes to the offensive line, replacing David Andrews and it never skipped a beat

If the Patriots can continue to have that kind of success running the ball I like their chances to compete with anyone and it is incredibly fun to watch

Next week at Kansas City is going to be a huge, HUGE challenge up against Patrick Mahomes’ super explosive offense, but if the secondary can prevent the big plays downfield (without the gift of DPI, Gilmore) and the offense can slow down the game by running the ball and controlling the time of possession, I’m saying there’s a chance. Who would’ve thought 3 weeks into the season that we would be looking this good in all three phases, complementing each other, compensating for strengths and weaknesses, and enjoying the games this much? It wasn’t me a few long months ago, that’s for sure. This team seems to have each other’s backs and genuinely like each other. Guess what? Football is fun again in Foxboro!!

As always, Go Pats!