3 takeaways from Raiders’ win over Patriots

Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:

1. Take care of business

Look, the team wearing Patriots jerseys on the field Sunday bore no resemblance to the dynastic power that ruled the NFL for nearly two decades.

In fact, they are downright bad.

But wins in the NFL are rarely easy to come by, and the Raiders did what they had to do to secure a victory and improve to 3-3.

Nobody asks how at the end of the season, they ask how many, and the Raiders have given themselves the opportunity to stay relevant in the AFC with back-to-back home wins against struggling opponents.

And to the Raiders’ credit, they did have to overcome some obstacles. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was injured late in the first half and did not play after intermission. Star receiver Davante Adams, who is nursing an injured shoulder, took a huge shot in the first half that jarred the ball loose and led to an interception.

But the defense came through when it had to by preventing the Patriots from getting into field-goal range on the final possession with a chance to win the game. The defense made sure its territory wasn’t even threatened, as Maxx Crosby threw down Mac Jones in the end zone for a game-clinching safety with 1:47 to play.

Those two points gave them more than 20 points in a game for the first time this season and ensured Raiders coach Josh McDaniels would improve to 3-0 against his mentor, New England coach Bill Belichick.

2. New weapon emerges

The Raiders had high hopes for Michael Mayer when they traded up to early in the second round to select him in April’s NFL draft.

But there hadn’t been much production in the first five weeks.

That changed Sunday when the rookie tight end had a breakout game.

Mayer had caught just three passes for 41 yards in the first five games and had been targeted only five times.

But the Notre Dame product had the biggest game of his career with five catches for 75 yards.

Three of those receptions came on the first drive for 35 yards. Two of them moved the chains on third downs.

It appeared to be a conscious decision to get Mayer more involved, and the additional weapon would be a big boost to the offense.

3. Quarterback situation?

Garoppolo left the game at halftime with a back injury and was transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

The Raiders did not immediately provide an update on his status, but the fact that there was enough concern to take him from the venue raises questions about his availability for next week’s game in Chicago and beyond.

There also could be a decision to be made about whom would take over as the starting quarterback. The team’s preference appears to be for Hoyer to be on-call as the No. 2 option should something happen during a game, but McDaniels opted to go with rookie Aidan O’Connell when there was a full week of reps to prepare when the Raiders played the Chargers and Garoppolo had to sit with a concussion.

But O’Connell struggled in his awareness and processing time, getting sacked seven times and turning it over three in his only start.

Hoyer was serviceable in relief Sunday, completing six of 10 passes for 102 yards and avoiding any big mistakes.

The veteran last won a game as a starting quarterback Oct. 2, 2016. He doesn’t do anything spectacularly well, but understands the offense and how to manage a game.

That might be preferable in what could be another ugly, low-scoring game in Chicago against a Bears team that lost starting quarterback Justin Fields on Sunday to an injury on his throwing hand.

Tyson Bagent finished the game for Chicago.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.