Giardi: Patriots fall to a Raiders team led by a slew of ex-Pats

The Spiderman meme came to life Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Two teams who aren't good - the Patriots and Raiders - showed precisely that, with penalties galore, red zone failures, and piss-poor offensive line play. In the end, Las Vegas, getting life from a bunch of ex-Patriots, hung on for a 21-17 victory, dropping the Pats to 1-5 on the season, with Buffalo and a trip to Miami looming.

"We need to do a better job here in really just about every area," said Bill Belichick. "One of a number of things could have made a difference, so we just need to be able to coach it better, play it better, execute a little bit better, and that's really the story of the game."

This game was his third meeting against Belichick and his third win for Josh McDaniels. It didn't get the same kind of celebration publicly that we saw from McD when he was a 32-year-old head coach in Denver, but undoubtedly, this was still sweet but exhausting. 

"That certainly wasn't a Picasso out there," quipped McDaniels. "We knew we'd get their best fight." 

How about Brian Hoyer? The Raiders backup quarterback didn't want to leave New England, but Belichick cut him in the offseason. Why? Perhaps it was because he was one of the players who voiced complaints - albeit internally - about the offense last season. But with Jimmy Garoppolo forced out of the game at halftime and needing an ambulance ride to a local hospital, Hoyer stepped in and slung it, leading his team to a couple of field goal drives, increasing a 13-10 lead to 19-10. Included in that stretch was a gorgeous 48-yard bomb to Tre Tucker. The history on that play mattered. 

"Having been there for the last seven years, I know a lot of times on third downs that they want to take away your best players - for us, that would be Davante (Adams) and Jakobi (Meyers)," said Hoyer. "That was something we were keying on. Something I've seen in practice over the years a lot of times, so I was waiting to see when are they going to do that. You never know when it's going to come up. Usually in the red area, sometimes in the field… that's a play we've had in our pocket for quite a while."

The quarterback mentioned Meyers, who scored the game's first touchdown. Yes, the same Meyers who was the Pats' best receiver in each of the previous two seasons and who, quite frankly, was a player that the rest of the locker room looked to as a leader. Instead, he felt "unwanted," his side was surprised by Belichick's comments this past week that the two sides were close - "relatively" - to a new deal. "News to us," they said. Meyers said he wouldn't make this game too much. Instead, he let his play deliver a message. "Miss me?" Indeed, they do. It reminded me of the old Wes Welker quote: "Yeah it's kind of nice to stick it in Bill's face once in a while." (And he said that while he was still on the team.) Meyers gets open and catches the ball when it's thrown to him. Who wants to tell DeVante Parker that's a big part of his job? 

More Foxborough escapees shined. Jimmy G left the game at the half up 13-3, with a touchdown pass and 162 passing yards. Adam Butler had a drive-ending sack. GM Dave Ziegler was responsible for signing these guys. A handful of assistant coaches - OC Mick Lombardi to line coach Carmen Bricillo, Bo Hardegree, Jerry Schuplinski, and Rob Ryan - logged many hours at Patriot Place. Hell, I even caught a glimpse of Danny Amendola in the Raiders coaching box (he helps oversee the wideouts and returners). Is that adult beverage going to taste a little better tonight? Or does that dip have a little more kick? They took those odds off the board. Gambling is illegal at Bushwood (though not so much in the NFL, but that's another story for another day).

“A lot of people here feel that we gave a lot to that team, so this win absolutely means more than others,” Meyers told reporters.

Meanwhile, if you placed a bet on the Pats making the playoffs, I hope you did so with the spare change you found under the couch. This game was far more competitive than what we witnessed versus the Cowboys and Saints - it wouldn't have taken much - but these were baby steps at best against an opponent that will probably find themselves in the same position as you come January - watching the postseason from the couch, or ignoring it entirely from some tropical island.

"This game is a lot different than the last two games. I don't think you can even compare those," said Belichick when asked about the same types of mistakes - penalties, missed assignments, another turnover from the quarterback - rearing their ugly heads in Sin City. 

But with an imperfect roster to begin with - now even more challenged because of a spate of injuries - that can't keep happening, especially after "starting over" this past week. Ten penalties, including three in the game's final two minutes, an interception that eliminated an opportunity for at least three points, and at least one blown coverage (Meyers TD) are difficult for good teams to overcome. The Pats aren't a good team. Or an average one. They are what their record says they are, and this season can get a lot worse before it gets better if it gets better at all.