After back-to-back sub-par performances by the Patriots offense, they faced Derek Carr and the lowly Raiders in their 2014 home opener looking to have their first breakout performance of the season. After both teams punted on their opening drive, the Raiders reached the Patriots 31 and struck first blood on a 49-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. After both teams punted again, the Patriots embarked on a 15 play, 84-yard drive, converting four third-downs,  and scoring on Brady's 6-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski midway through the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead. The Raiders punted on their next drive, and Marquette King punted only 22 yards to midfield. With the great field position, the Patriots drove all the way to the Raiders 2, but their red zone struggles continued, and they settled for a 20-yard field goal by Gostkowski, giving them a 10-3 lead at halftime. Strong defense continued in the second half. The Raiders drove deep into Patriots territory early in the second quarter, but could only score on a 37-yard field goal by Janikowski. Following a Patriots punt, the Raiders drove from their own 14, to the Patriots 37, but a false start penalty on guard Donald Penn made it 3rd-and-15, and then Carr completed a 13-yard pass to James Jones to the Patriots 29, bringing up a 4th-and-2. The Raiders decided to settle with Janikowski's 47 yard field goal, making the score 10-9. Matthew Slater returned the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to the Patriots 41. With the good field position, the Patriots drove to the Raiders 2 again, but were once again held out of the end zone, and increased their lead to 13-9 on another 20-yard field goal by Gostkowski. After the Raiders went three-and-out, the Patriots marched 63 yards culminating with Gostkowski's 36-yard field goal, increasing the lead to 16-9 midway through the fourth quarter. The Raiders, though, couldn't muster up any offense against the Patriots and they went three-and-out again, but the Patriots failed to put the game away and punted. In just three plays the Raiders reached Patriots territory, but two plays later, on 3rd-and-7 at the Patriots 30-yard line, Carr threw an incomplete pass seemingly bringing up a do-or-die 4th down, but Ryan was called for pass interference moving the ball to the Patriots 6-yard line. On the very next play, Darren McFadden scored on a 6-yard touchdown run, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty on Raiders left guard Gabe Jackson. On the next play, Carr's pass attempt was tipped and intercepted by Vince Wilfork with 0:51 seconds left, which sealed the win for the Patriots. Tom Brady had his best game to date, despite being pressured relentlessly by the Oakland defensive line, including being sacked twice, completing 24 of 37 passes for 234 yards, with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. The running game struggled, with Ridley leading the team with only 54 yards on 19 carries. Julian Edelman was the leading receiver for either team, with 10 catches for 84 yards. Rob Gronkowski continued to slowly work himself into the offense catching only 3 passes for 44 yards, but also caught the only touchdown. Derek Carr had a sub-par day, going 21 of 34 for only 174 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. Both defenses were spectacular holding the opposing offense to under 300 yards of offense (241 for the Raiders, 297 for the Patriots). With the win the Patriots advanced to 2-1 and Brady won his 150th career game, 3rd most by a starting quarterback in NFL history.

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