What You Need to Know About The New England Patriots' Game Against the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium

Editor’s Note: Information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations.

It’s taken a few weeks but the Patriots are finally back home and ready to go in front of the Gillette Stadium faithful. For Week 3, the Pats find themselves going head to head with the Oakland Raiders of the AFC West.

The Raiders enter the game at 0-2 after a 19-14 loss to the Jets to start the season and a 30-14 defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans during Week 2.

After starting the season with a loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots bounced back with a stellar defensive effort against the Minnesota Vikings, winning 30-7.

Whether you are going to the game, watching from home, or just want to know when to stay away from Route 1, here is what you need to know about the Patriots vs. the Raiders!

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Greg Gumbel will handle play-by-play duties with Trent Green as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Bob Mansbach and directed by Suzanne Smith.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.

Parking Lot Information

The Gillette Stadium parking lots will open at 9 a.m. Parking at the stadium is $40 for cars and motorcycles and $150 for buses, RVs, and limos.

In addition, the following vehicles will not be allowed in the lots:

• Any vehicle towing a trailer (this includes fifth-wheel RV units).
• Professional catering trucks and or services without prior written approval from Stadium Management.
• Excessive tailgate setups that impede on customers parked around your vehicles, emergency access or deemed to be unsafe or inappropriate by Stadium Management.
• Any type of swimming pool, portable pool, hot tubs, water filled pickup trucks, or the like.

Allow Plenty of Time for Traffic Around the Stadium

With a capacity crowd of over 68,000 fans expected, drivers are advised to allow themselves plenty of time when traveling near the stadium on game day. Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads before and after the game. Fans must use I-95, I-495 or Route 140 to access Gillette Stadium. ‘

Those not going to the game should seek alternate routes to their destination.

The Dos and Do Nots of the Parking Lot

No one wants to be that person that gets in trouble for something that could have been avoided by knowing the the rules of the parking lot. Here are the regulations for parking at the stadium.

To provide all visitors with a safe and enjoyable visit to Gillette Stadium, the following parking lot restrictions apply on game days:

• Visitors must be in possession of a valid ticket to that day’s game to gain access to parking lots.
• Parking license is limited solely to the purpose of parking your vehicle on our property to gain entry to Gillette Stadium. Each paid license entitles the licensee to occupy one parking space.
• Solicitation, commercial or otherwise, by anyone for any purpose is expressly prohibited.
• Sale of any food, beverage or other items in Gillette Stadium parking lots, either prepaid or walk-up, without obtaining prior written approval of stadium management is expressly prohibited.
• Visitors must follow the directions given by the parking attendants and park within the space they designate for your use.
• Spaces cannot be held for vehicles arriving at a later time.
• Vehicles cannot be pulled into drive aisles after they are parked.

Failure to abide by these rules and restrictions will result in the immediate revocation of the individual’s parking license, the individual will be escorted from the property, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense, and such conduct may result in the loss of Season Ticket Holder privileges.

The Home Opener Usually Brings Good News

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots are 11-1 in home openers. 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 enter this week’s game with a 29-25 record in home openers. The Patriots enter this week’s game with a nine game home winning streak against AFC West opponents, including two playoff wins. The Patriots last loss at home against the AFC West was 17-7 defeat to Denver on Sept. 24, 2006.

Series History

The Patriots and Raiders will meet for the 34th time overall and for the 31st time in regular-season play this Sunday when Oakland travels to New England. It will be the Raiders second time playing at Gillette Stadium. On Sept. 8, 2005, the Patriots opened the season with a 30-20 victory in the Raiders Gillette Stadium debut. The last two meetings between the teams in 2008 and 2011 were in Oakland.

The teams have met three times in the playoffs, producing memorable, classic encounters on each occasion. In 1976 the Patriots beat the Raiders 48-17 in the regular season before losing a playoff game at Oakland, 24-21.

The Patriots advanced to their first AFC Championship game in 1985 after beating the Raiders, 27-20, in Los Angeles. Then in the first Super Bowl championship year in 2001, the Patriots beat Oakland, 16-13, in overtime in the last game ever played in Foxboro Stadium.

The last time the Patriots and Raiders squared off in the regular season was in 2011 when New England traveled to Oakland and won 31-19 on Oct. 2, 2011.

The Patriots lead the all-time series with a 17-15-1 advantage, including a 2-1 postseason record.

The Raiders have had the edge in home games against the Patriots as they own a 10-7 record when the two teams square off on the west coast. The Raiders are 6-3 against the Patriots at the Oakland Coliseum. The series between the two charter members of the American Football League dates back to 1960, the inaugural season for each club. Although the teams played frequently prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, they have met just four times in the regular-season since 1989.

Visit the Style Lounge

This weekend, the Patriots will be setting up the NFL Style Lounge aimed at their female fans who want to cheer on the Pats and look good doing it. A popup boutique, the Style Lounge features the best in female attire and even a chance to get a Patriots-themed manicure.

“We were realizing that women come in different shapes and sizes and have different tastes and we wanted to make sure that we were giving them that offering. Whatever their style is we have it and it is designed for women,’ NFL Director of Apperal Rhiannon Madden said.

On Saturday, fans were treated to a look at the tent during the afternoon. A walk around the store shows more than just jerseys or t-shirts in pink, but rather a full variety of clothes and accessories for the female audience that makes up 45 percent of NFL fans.

“I think it’s really important for women to feel there is something specific for them that was created to them and they are just not in their boyfriend’s or husband’s jersey,” stylist Phillip Bloch said.

Located in the courtyard by the Bank of America entrance, the NFL Style Lounge will be open to fans with tickets to the game from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Questions

Will Brady Spread the Ball Around?

Though two games, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski have accounted for 45.5 percent of Brady’s completed passed and 41 percent of the targets. While Edelman’s average of 88 yards per game is impressive, it does made things predictable for the Patriots offense going against the second best pass defense in the league.

“I think that’s definitely a big part of what we’re trying to do offensively to make us hard to defend is to be able to throw the ball to everybody,” Brady told reporters this week. “I’ve got to do a better job finding the other guys because it’s a lot of good routes, they’re big targets, guys are working really hard to get open. So hopefully it shows up this week in our pass game. We’re going to work hard this week to see if we can all be on the same page more often.”

Will Amendola be visible?

At one time hailed as the replacement for Wes Welker, it’s been easy to forget that Danny Amondola has been on the field for the Patriots this season. With three catches for 16 yards though two games, Amendola has seemed nonexistent at times.

As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe points out, Amendola has been open but it’s a matter of Brady trusting his receivers and looking his way. Whether Amendola makes an impact against the Raiders is partially up to Brady looking for other jerseys to throw to aside from number 87 and 11.

What Will Carr Do?

Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr has a QB rating of 80.6 though two games but remains a question mark given his lack of pro experience.

“The one thing that sticks out is that he’s athletic and he can run the ball. So we’ll have to be ready for him in case he runs,” Patriots safety Devon McCourty told reporters on Thursday.

A strong pass rush led by Dont’a Hightowner, Rob Ninkovich and Chris Jones could rattle the young Raider which could mean good things for McCourty, Darrelle Revis, and the rest of the Patriots’ secondary.

What Will the Raiders Bring?

Oakland may 0-2 but that hasn’t caused New England to lessen their preparation for their week 3 matchup. If anything, it’s kept them on their toes.

“I’m expecting their best. Being 0-2 is a tough predicament, especially early in the season. You got to find ways to turn that around so I’m pretty sure they have something out of the ordinary to give their team a spark so we have to be ready for that,” Patriots captain and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said.

History is not on the side of most 0-2 teams. Since 2007, only four 0-2 teams went on to make the playoffs. Of course, the last Patriots team to start 0-2 was the 2001 squad that would go on to beat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

Photo Credit: New England Patriots