Raiders' coach Pete Carroll has win-now mentality

Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly (36) and safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (20) make a tackle on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins (18) during the first half of an NFL preseason game at Allegiant Stadium Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Photo by: Steve Marcus

Pete Carroll goes back to where he found his initial success as an NFL head coach in his first game leading the Las Vegas Raiders.

The 73-year-old landed his first head-coaching job with the New York Jets in 1994 but was fired after one season. He really started to make a name for himself when he joined the Patriots and brought them to the playoffs in his first two seasons, 1997 and 1998.

But Carroll hasn’t been in a reflective mood leading up to the game while growing surly over questions about his age and history. When asked if going back to New England still means something to him, he dryly responded, “Yeah, it does,” with no elaboration. He’s in game mode, obsessively focused with his stated goal of getting the Raiders to 10 wins for the second time since they moved to Las Vegas and therefore reaching the playoffs.

He has a kindred spirit on the other sideline in first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who’s a decorated veteran known for intensity in his own right. Both Vrabel and Carroll worked with their respective front offices to make major changes to their rosters, helping this matchup to look like one of the most evenly-matched games of the NFL’s Week 1 slate.

Favorable matchup: Brock Bowers vs. Patriots’ new-look defense

It’s hard to know exactly what to expect out of Vrabel and first-time New England defensive coordinator Terrell Williams’ unit, but a lot of evidence would suggest it will be vulnerable against tight ends. Four of Vrabel’s six teams with the Tennessee Titans rated below league average in covering tight ends per the DVOA ratings including grading out dead-last in 2020. The Patriots also struggled against tight ends last year. That’s a big problem going up against the best tight end in the league. Bowers had a historic first professional season with an NFL rookie-record 1,194 receiving yards and five touchdowns. New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has also used 12 personnel — sets with two tight ends — aggressively in training camp with Bowers’ position-mates Michael Mayer and Ian Thomas turning heads. There’s been a lot of talk about the Raiders’ attack being based around rookie first-round pick running back Ashton Jeanty, but that all might be premature. Until proven otherwise, Bowers is the Raiders’ best weapon.

Problematic matchup: Ashton Jeanty vs. Patriots’ new-look defense

Employing some of the same estimation tactics, New England looks like it should present a formidable challenge for Jeanty’s debut. The Patriots were poor against the run a year ago, but stopping opposing ground games was a point of emphasis for Vrabel with the Titans and he’s brought in five new starters along the team’s defensive front seven this season. Tennessee never ranked below average against opposing run games once in six years under Vrabel and rated No. 1 in the league by DVOA in 2022. This could be strength against strength as Kelly is known for scheming open running lanes. Jeanty really came on late in Raiders’ training camp once the team stuck with the quintet D.J. Glaze-Jackson Powers-Johnson-Jordan Meredith-Dylan Parham-Kolton Miller as its starting offensive line and ran more out of Pistol formations. A near-identical unit was blocking for the Raiders last year, however, and they finished dead-last in the league at 3.6 yards per rush attempt. Jeanty is expected to change all of that, but he might really have to work for it if he wants to do it right away. 

Gamebreaker: Safety Jeremy Chinn

Even though the over/under has risen from 41.5 points to 44, Raiders at Patriots is still projected as one of the lower scoring games of Week 1 by the betting market. That means it could quite possibly come down to a big defensive play or two. Edge rusher Maxx Crosby is the Raiders’ biggest defensive playmaker but, throughout training camp, Chinn emerged as the second-most productive. Carroll and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham have used Chinn as a “joker” of sorts, lining him up in different places frequently throughout training camp. He responded by doing everything from nabbing interceptions, stuffing running backs for losses and catching quarterbacks off-guard with blitzes. The sixth-year NFL veteran, first-year Raider is officially listed as the team’s starting strong safety, but he might log just as many snaps split between nickelback and de facto linebacker. Carroll and new general manager John Spytek brought in several new defensive backs including former first-round pick Eric Stokes and rookie Darien Porter at cornerback, but the former Commander and Panther Chinn looks like the best of the bunch.

Big Number: 1,779

That’s how many snaps the Raiders lost off last year’s defense to the Patriots alone this offseason. New England signed 2024 Las Vegas starters linebacker Robert Spillane, edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson and safety Marcus Epps. Spillane played 1,095 snaps last year, accounting for more than 98% of the time the Raiders defense was on the field. He led Las Vegas in tackles in each of the last two years. Chaisson came on late in the 2024 season and finished 12th on the team with 508 snaps. Epps played only 179 snaps before going down with an ACL tear after three games. The former Raiders’ team captain was also cut by the Patriots at the end of training camp before resigning with his longtime franchise, the Philadelphia Eagles. Still, current Patriots Spillane and Chaisson leave a sizable hole that the Raiders need to prove they can fill. “It’s always a little bit more fun when you know them,” Meyers said. “It’s like playing your brother or a real close friend. You’re going to play a little bit harder. You know they know your secrets, so there’s not hiding anything.”

Best Bet (9-8 last year): TreVeyon Henderson over 36.5 rushing yards

Jeanty might not even be the best rookie running back on the field. Henderson, fresh off a national championship at Ohio State, popped for the Patriots throughout the preseason. He’s listed second on the Patriots’ depth chart behind local great/Centennial High product Rhamondre Stevenson, but that could be misleading. The more explosive Henderson seems like a better fit in Patriots offensive coordinator/former Raiders coach Josh McDaniels’ scheme. At worst, the two should split carries. But Stevenson’s over/under is as much as eight yards higher than Henderson’s depending on the sports book. Jeanty’s over/under is nearly double each Henderson’s and Stevenson’s at 70.5 yards. The No. 6 overall pick will have surely have some big games for the Raiders throughout the year, but don’t pay a premium for it to happen in his premiere.