The Patriots and Raiders both spent Wednesday and Thursday listing bodies on the injury report, but the real matchup question is simpler than the paperwork: does New England’s availability issue push this game toward the kind of run-heavy script Las Vegas has been trying to find?
That is the tension heading into Week 5. The Patriots enter the game with 471 rushing yards on 120 attempts, good for 10th in the league, but their backfield picture is not clean. Rhamondre Stevenson’s health looms over the plan, and New England’s Oct. 8 injury report showed several players unavailable in practice, including cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Christian Gonzalez, receiver Mack Hollins, fullback Reggie Gilliam and corner Karon Prunty. Jalen Nailor also did not participate because of a concussion.
At the same time, the Patriots did get a few notable practice updates. Drake Maye, listed with a right shoulder issue, was a full participant, and safety Brenden Schooler was also full after returning to play off the NFI list, though he is not eligible this week.
The Raiders’ side of the equation is just as direct. Their own matchup framing makes the assignment plain: get the run game going in New England. That is not a throwaway line for a team that has struggled to do it consistently. Las Vegas ranks 27th in average rushing yards allowed per game, and the number underneath that is even starker: 5.2 yards per carry, 31st in the NFL.
That is the opening the Patriots’ injuries could create. If New England is forced to adjust around Stevenson and the rest of its unavailable players, the game can tilt toward the exact area Las Vegas says it needs to solve.
The Raiders have leaned on rookie Mike Washington Jr. to carry part of that burden. He has 120 rushing yards on 24 carries and owns the team’s only rushing touchdown this season. Those numbers make him central to a game plan that already has a clear mandate, especially against a Patriots defense that has still been productive against the run overall, ranking 14th in fewest rushing yards allowed and 21st in fewest yards allowed per carry at 4.4.
As Raiders offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak put it, facing New England still carries the weight of what the Patriots have been.
“They were a great defense last season,” Kubiak, who faced the Patriots in Super Bowl LX, said.
Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard also pointed to the need for steadiness, stressing emotional consistency between drives and games. That matters in a matchup where the run game is not just a preference but a stated task, and where New England’s injury report could determine whether Las Vegas gets the kind of script it wants or gets pushed into something else entirely.