The Las Vegas Raiders were an embarrassment under the tutelage of head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Bringing "The Patriot Way" to Las Vegas without quarterback Tom Brady, the ringleader, seemed foolish, and it proved to be so.
Their tenure was marked by a lack of conformity and no semblance of cohesion within the team. McDaniels and Ziegler were ultimately fired after a brutal primetime loss to the Detroit Lions, and the Raiders are still trying to recover from all the miscues this leadership tandem made.
While Ziegler landed in the Tennessee Titans' front office, McDaniels spent over a year out of coaching. He finally landed back in New England before the 2025 NFL season for his third term as the offensive coordinator, and McDaniels had a textbook revenge game set up in Week 1.
Patriots offense struggles against Raiders under Josh McDaniels
Raider Nation had no quarrels at all about the team firing McDaniels when they did. In fact, some in the fan base and on the roster felt that he needed to go long before owner Mark Davis actually pulled the plug.
But there is no doubt that McDaniels is a bright offensive mind, and it would have been brutal for his Patriots offense to take it to Las Vegas, no matter what the final score was. Raiders fans were vindicated, once again, when the opposite happened on Sunday.
McDaniels' offense completely fell apart in the second half, punting four times in six drives. Quarterback Drake Maye also threw an interception, and their only score came on a late field goal with the Raiders primarily in a prevent defense up two scores.
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Chip Kelly outclassed McDaniels in Week 1, recording 53 more yards of offense despite having six fewer plays. The Raiders' 6.3 yards per play far exceeded the Patriots' 4.9, and New England ended up punting six times, which was on over half of their drives.
There were other classic McDaniels moments, like him calling a short pass to a running back on third-and-long, or trying to be too smart in situations where the team just needed to run a simple play to convert.
Las Vegas is obviously much better off without McDaniels at the helm, but Sunday had both the franchise and the fan base feeling vindicated about their decision to part ways. Tom Brady was ultimately "The Patriot Way," and now, he's a Raider.