Game Notes: New England Patriots Grind Out Win Over Oakland Raiders

It may not have been the most exciting game in the history football, but it certainly produced the results New England Patriots fans were looking for.

A sluggish grind at times, the Patriots outlasted the Oakland Raiders in their home opener for a 13-9 win to improve to 2-1.

“That was kind of a grind-it-out game for us. I thought the players did a good job of making the plays we had to make here at the end of the game; good situational football, did a pretty good job of handling that. Defensively, any time you can keep a team out of the end zone, you have to feel good about that,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said.

The good news for the Patriots is their defense and their ability to hold the Raiders to only three field goals and two unsuccessful red zone visits during the game.

Sebastian Janikowski initially gave the Raiders a 3-0 lead with 4:42 to play, and would later hit 37 and 47-yard field goals to bring the Raiders to within one during the third quarter.

Down by a touchdown with 1:02 to play, the Raiders were an extra point away from tying the game after a Darren McFadden six-yard run, but a holding call pushed Oakland back to the 16-yard line.

Vince Wilfork locked away the win when a Carr pass intended for Moore deflected off of Logan Ryan and Rob Ninkovich and fell into the hands of the Wilfork.

On offense, Rob Gronkowski caught the only touchdown for either team with 4:18 to play in the second quarter to put New England up 7-3. The short, six-yard pass across the middle was Gronkowski’s third touchdown of 2014.

“Just a little over route and just got open on the linebacker, and Tom [Brady] put a nice ball in there, and I just made the catch and got in,” Gronkowski said.

Julian Edelman had his fourth career game with 10 or more catches, bringing in 13 receptions for 84 yards. Edelman’s best reception came on third and three at the start of the fourth quarter with the wide receiver blasting past the first down marker at the Oakland nine-yard line and diving for the two.

A dropped pass by Gronkowski and a short pass to Amendola meant that the Patriots had to settle for a field goal, one of three by Stephen Gostkowski.

Stevan Ridley was held to only 54 yards on 19 carries by a strong Raiders rush defense. Likewise, Darren McFadden rushed for on 59 yards on the ground on 18 attempts against the Patriots.

The Patriots will travel to Kansas City next week to take on the Chiefs on Monday, Sept. 29.

Below are game notes provided by the New England Patriots.

PATRIOTS IMPROVE TO 12-1 IN HOME OPENERS AT GILLETTE STADIUM

With today’s 16-9 win over Oakland, the Patriots improved to 12-1 in home openers since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002. The Patriots won their first 10 openers at Gillette before suffering their first loss, a 20-18 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 16, 2012. Overall, the Patriots are 30-25 home openers.

PATRIOTS HOME OPENERS AT GILLETTE SATDIUM

DATE SCORE W/L OPPONENT

• 09/07/02 30-14 W Pittsburgh
• 09/21/03 23-16 W New York Jets
• 09/09/04 27-24 W Indianapolis
• 09/08/05 30-20 W Oakland
• 09/10/06 19-17 W Buffalo
• 09/16/07 38-14 W San Diego
• 09/07/08 17-10 W Kansas City
• 09/14/09 25-24 W Buffalo
• 09/12/10 38-24 W Cincinnati
• 09/18/11 35-21 W San Diego
• 09/16/12 18-20 L Arizona
• 09/12/13 13-10 W New York Jets
• 9/21/14 16-9 W Oakland

HOME SWEET HOME

The Patriots improved to 82-15 (.845) at Gillette Stadium in regular season games.

With today’s victory over Oakland, New England has now won 31 straight games at home against AFC conference opponents. The Patriots last loss at home against an AFC opponent was a 33-10 loss vs. Pittsburgh on Nov. 30, 2008.

TEAMS WITH HIGHEST WIN PCT. AT STADIUM SINCE 1970 (MIN. 25 GAMES)

Team Stadium W-L-T Win Pct.

• New England Gillette Stadium 82-15-0 . .845
• Miami Orange Bowl 101-22-1 .819
• Minnesota Metropolitan Stadium 64-23-1 .733
• Pittsburgh Heinz Field 76-28-1 .729
• LA Rams Memorial Coliseum 53-20-2 .726

PATRIOTS KEEP OAKLAND OUT OF THE END ZONE

The Patriots held the Raiders without a touchdown in the game, marking the first time the Patriots kept their opponents from scoring a touchdown in a game since September 22, 2013, when New England kept Tampa Bay out of the end zone in a 23-3 Patriots win at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots have kept their opponents out of the end zone 15 times in the 97-game regular-season history of Gillette Stadium.

PATRIOTS EXTEND STREAK TO 42 STRAIGHT HOME GAMES WITH AT LEAST 1 TD PASS

The Patriots extended their streak 42 straight home games with at least one touchdown pass, the longest streak in post-merger NFL history, with the 6-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady to TE Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter. New Orleans has the second longest streak with 39, including today’s games. The last time the Patriots did not have a touchdown pass in a home game was in a 33-10 loss vs. Pittsburgh on Dec. 30, 2008.

MOST CONSECUTIVE HOME GAMES WITH A TOUCHDOWN PASS SINCE 1970

Team Gm Start End Record

• New England Patriots 42 12/21/08 Current 39-3
• New Orleans Saints 39 10/18/09 Current 30-9
• Green Bay Packers 36 10/05/08 12/02/12 29-7
• Miami Dolphins 32 09/11/83 12/22/86 26-6
• Green Bay Packers 29 11/03/96 09/03/00 24-5

PATS EXTEND STREAK TO 10 STRAIGHT HOME WINS AGAINST AFC WEST

The Patriots won their 10th straight home game against AFC West opponents, including two playoff wins. The Patriots last loss at home against the AFC West was a 17-7 defeat to Denver on Sept. 24, 2006.

PATRIOTS DEFENSE STOPS THE RUN

The Patriots defense limited Oakland to 67 rushing yards (3.0 yards per carry) one week after holding Minnesota to 54 yards on the ground.

PATRIOTS CONTINUE STRONG START TURNING THE BALL OVER

The Patriots have now forced a turnover in each of the three games so far in 2014, and have totaled eight takeaways through three games. New England is on pace for 43 takeaways in 2014, which would be the most for the team since having 47 takeaways in 1985. The Patriots defense had 29 turnovers in 2013. The most takeaways in team history was 50 in 1976.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

BRADY BECOMES THE THIRD NFL QUARTERBACK WITH 150 WINS

Tom Brady led the Patriots to his 150th career regular season win, becoming the third NFL quarterback to reach that milestone, joining Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (169, not including today’s game).

MOST CAREER WINS AS A STARTING QB

(Regular season only) Bold Indicates active players

Rk Name W L T Pct.

1. Brett Favre 186 112 0 .624
2. Peyton Manning 169 73 0 .698*
3. Tom Brady 150 44 0 .773
4. John Elway 148 82 1 .643
5. Dan Marino 147 93 0 .613

*Not including this week’s game

WILFORK SEALS WIN WITH THIRD CAREER INTERCEPTION

Vince Wilfork made his third career interception when he snared a pass that had been deflected in the final minute of the game. The play came with the Raiders having gained a first-and-goal and with Oakland trailing by seven points, 16-9. Wilfork’s last interception was also against Oakland, coming in a 31-19 New England victory in Oakland on October 2, 2011. Two of Wilfork’s three career interceptions have come against the Raiders.

VINCE WILFORK IS PATRIOTS FRANCHISE LEADER IN INTERCEPTONS BY A DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

Vince Wilfork had his third interception as a Patriots defensive lineman and as a result became the franchise’s all-time leader in interceptions by a defensive lineman. Wilfork moved past Anthony Pleasant (2), Richard Seymour (2) and Henry Thomas (2) to become the first Patriots defensive lineman to have three interceptions.

PATRIOTS RECORD BOOK / MOST INTERCEPTIONS BY A DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

Player Yrs Int Yds

• Vince Wilfork 2004-2014 3 48
• Anthony Pleasant 2001-2003 2 0
• Richard Seymour 2001-2008 2 6
• Henry Thomas 1997-2000 2 40

EDELMAN RUNS STREAK TO NINE STRAIGHT GAMES WITH AT LEAST SIX RECEPTIONS

Julian Edelman has at least six receptions in his last nine regular season games. He closed out the 2013 season with six straight games with at least six catches and extended his streak to 10 with at least six receptions in the first three games in 2014. It is the longest streak in the NFL and is the longest streak for the Patriots since Wes Welker put together a team record streak of 12 (2007-08), 11 (2008-09) and 10 (2012) such games.

EDELMAN HAS FOURTH REGULAR SEASON GAME WITH 10 CATCHES

Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 84 yards against Oakland, marking his fourth regular season game with at least 10 receptions. He had 13 receptions at Miami (12/15/13) and vs. New York Jets (9/12/13) and 10 receptions at Houston (1/3/10). He also had 10 receptions in the AFC Championship game at Denver (1/19/14).

EDELMAN ON A HIGH PACE IN 2014

Edelman has 22 receptions through the first two games. He is on pace to finish the season with 117 receptions.

GOSTKOWSKI HAS 27 STRAIGHT FOURTH QUARTER FIELD GOALS

Stephen Gostkowski has made 27 consecutive fourth-quarter field goals, including a 20-yard and a 36-yard field goal against Oakland. .

GOSTKOWSKI STARTS THE SEASON PERFECT

Stephen Gostkowski was three-for-three on field goals against the Raiders and has made all eight of his attempts in 2014. His first four field goals were all from greater than 40 yards. He drilled a 47 and 45-yard field goal in the season-opener at Miami and connected on a 48-yarder in the first quarter and a 47-yarder in the third quarter at Minnesota. Gostkowski added a 27-yarder in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. Against the Raiders, Gostkowski was good from 21, 20, and 36 yards.

BRADY INCHING CLOSER TO 50,000 PASSING YARDS

Tom Brady (49,781) needs 219 more passing yards to become the sixth player in NFL history to reach 50,000 passing yards.

Player Passing yards

1. Brett Favre 71,838

2. Peyton Manning 65,475*

3. Dan Marino 61,361

4. John Elway 51,475

5. Drew Brees 51,651*

6. Tom Brady 49,781

7. Warren Moon 49,325

8. Fran Tarkenton 47,003

9. Vinny Testaverde 46,233

10.Drew Bledsoe 44,611

*Not including today’s games

GRONKOWSKI EXTENDS HIS STREAK TO 53 STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A RECEPTION

Rob Gronkowski caught a 6-yard pass touchdown pass in the second quarter and has caught at least one pass in all 53 regular season games that he has played.

LONGEST CURRENT STREAKS OF CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION BY TIGHT ENDS

• *90 Owen Daniels (Houston/Baltimore)
• *89 Jason Witten (Dallas)
• *83 Heath Miller (Pittsburgh)
• 53 Rob Gronkowski

*Not including today’s games.

GRONKOWSKI AND BRADY CONNECT FOR 44TH TOUCHDOWN

Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady connected on their 44th touchdown pass with a 6-yard connection in the second quarter. It is tied for the second-most connections between a quarterback and a tight end in NFL history.

THE MOST TD CONNECTIONS BETWEEN A QB AND A TE IN NFL HISTORY

Quarterback Tight End Team TD Connections

• Phillip Rivers Antonio Gates San Diego 63
• Drew Bledsoe Ben Coates New England 45
• Tom Brady Rob Gronkowski New England 44
• Peyton Manning Dallas Clark Indianapolis 44
• Drew Brees Jimmy Graham New Orleans 43
• Sonny Jurgensen Jerry Smith Washington 43
• Dan Fouts Kellen Winslow San Diego 41
• John Elway Shaoon Sharpe Denver 41

NOTABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYS

The Patriots defense came up with a number of notable plays in keeping Oakland out of the end zone. Below are some of the highlights—

• Kyle Arrington swatted away a Derek Carr pass intended for Oakland WR Denarius Moore on third-and-5 to end the Raiders’ first offensive possession of the game.
• Dont’a Hightower and Rob Ninkovich teamed up to drop Oakland RB Darren McFadden for a 6-yard loss on a passing play on first down in the first quarter, setting up a long yardage situation that helped to stall an Oakland drive and force the Raiders to settle for a field goal.
• Chandler Jones batted down a pass by Oakland’s Derek Carr on third-and-14 in the first quarter, forcing Oakland into a field goal try on the next play. He also batted away a Carr pass intended for WR James Jones on second down in the third quarter, forcing Oakland into a third down that it did not convert and helping to hold Oakland to a field goal on the drive.
• Pro Bowl special teamer Matthew Slater tackled Oakland PR TJ Carrie for a 1-yard loss on a first-quarter punt return.
• Patrick Chung reached in to bat away a Derek Carr pass intended for Oakland FB Marcel Reese inside the Patriots’ 10-yard line in the third quarter.
• Rob Nonkovich and Jerod Mayo teamed up to stop Oakland RB Latavius Murray for no gain on third-and-1 at the Patriots’ 29-yard line in the fourth quarter, forcing an Oakland punt on the next play and keeping momentum on the Patriots’ side following a New England field foal drive.

LINEUP NOTES

DL MICHAEL BUCHANAN MADE HIS 2014 DEBUT

Michael Buchanan made his 2014 debut after missing the first two games due to injury.

TE ROB GRONKOWSKI MAKES HIS FIRST START OF 2014

TE Rob Gronkowski made his first start of the 2014 season.

BRANDON LAFELL MADE HIS FIRST AS A PATRIOT

WR Brandon LaFell was in the starting lineup for the first time as a member of the Patriots.