Carroll’s Raiders pick up first win in Week 1 road trip to Foxborough

Las Vegas head coach Pete Carroll smiles at the stat sheet while addressing the team following its Week 1 win in New England. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders

After a preseason that featured two losses and a tie, the Las Vegas Raiders and new head coach Pete Carroll have opened the regular season 1-0.

In a road game up in Foxborough, Las Vegas got the better of New England, 20-13, Sunday, Sept. 7 from Gillette Stadium to kick off a new season. Carroll won his first game on the sidelines since January of last year.

“You just keep competing,” he said. “We don’t pass judgment, we just keep rolling and these guys were talking like that at halftime, they were talking like that on the sidelines and they kept talking about, ‘Just do the right thing.’

“That is the conversation that we’re trying to develop on a regular basis so there ain’t nothing we can’t handle.”

With a 1-0 after Week 1, the Raiders will now head back to the desert for their season opener which will be a Monday night divisional clash. The team will host the Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) Monday, Sept. 15 with kickoff slated for around 7 p.m.

While ushering in a new era under a new head coach, it began against a former head coach in Josh McDaniels who now serves once again as offensive coordinator of the Patriots.

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby peaks over the offensive line as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye gets ready to snap the football. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders

“Brand new team so we didn’t know what they were going to do,” Carroll said. “Josh had a lot of good calls in there and a lot of good stuff he did against us.”

Defensive end Maxx Crosby wrapped up the team’s first sack of the season late in the first quarter. That would be the start of a game that saw the Raider defense put nine quarterback hits and four sacks on opposing quarterback Drake Maye.

Fellow defensive end Malcolm Koonce earned a sack of his own but that came with a forced fumble which New England was able to recover. Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao was responsible for the lone forced turnover of the day by Las Vegas when he intercepted Maye in the third quarter.

Pola-Mao turned in seven total tackles including a tackle for loss, a pass deflection and that interception.

Offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs was held without a catch until the first Patriot drive of the second quarter. He finished with 57 yards on six catches while May tallied 287 yards on 30-of-46 passing with a touchdown and an interception.

Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith hurls a deep pass inside Gillette Stadium. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders

Quarterback Geno Smith made his official Las Vegas debut and passed for 362 yards on 24-for-34 through the air to go along with a touchdown and an interception on a deflected ball. He relied heavily on rookie sensation

from last year Brock Bowers, who caught Smith’s first pass as a Raider for 23 yards on the game’s first play.

Bowers racked up 103 yards on his five catches on the day before leaving the game after appearing hobbled early in the fourth quarter.

“They’re looking at his knee,” Carroll said. “He wanted to go back in and [the doctors] wouldn’t let him go back in.”

Raiders tight end Brock Bowers goes up high to complete one of his five catches against the Patriots. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders

Linebacker Elandon Roberts left the game in the first quarter after suffering an elbow injury. He did not return to the game in his debut with Las Vegas.

“He sprained his elbow,” Carroll said. “And we’ll see what that all means. He’s tough as nails and if he can come back, he will.”

Smith made use of the longball as well, including a 26-yard pass to third-year receiver Tre Tucker in the first quarter and a 36-yarder to rookie receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. He also found 1,000-yard receiver from a year ago, Jakobi Meyers for 24 yards in the first quarter.

After requesting a trade during the preseason, Meyers hauled in eight catches for 97 yards.

“I’m extremely proud of the guys,” Smith said. “It’s always a blessing to get a win in the NFL.”

Las Vegas running back Ashton Jeanty celebrates after scoring his first career NFL touchdown. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders

Running back Ashton Jeanty made his official debut as a Raider after being selected No. 6 overall in this past NFL Draft. He polished off a Las Vegas drive in the third quarter for his first career touchdown on his way to 38 yards and that score on 19 carries. Jeanty helped salt away the game with a four-yard run facing a 3rd and 1. He nearly did it again on another 3rd and 1 on the same drive but he’d slip near the line of scrimmage.

“That’s how we want to play football,” Smith said. “I want to make sure that I’m making the right reads, I want to make sure I’m making the right decisions and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers. We have a lot of great players and that’s something we can take advantage of.”

Even with the slip, the Raiders were able to conclude the drive with a made field goal from 40 yards out off the foot of kicker Daniel Carlson. En route to the win, one of the longest tenured players on the Las Vegas roster went 2-for-3 on field goals with a long of 51 yards.