Five quick thoughts: Brady picks apart Raiders in 33-8 victory

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Here are five quick-hitting thoughts from what transpired between the Patriots and Raiders down in Mexico City . . . 

1. The Raiders defense came as advertised: They were putrid. Granted, Tom Brady made a few throws that might've been difficult for any defense to stop. But things were too easy for New England in the first half. Their 16-play hurry-up drive in the first quarter saw Brady go 9-for-9. The Raiders also allowed the Patriots to get into field-goal range when the Patriots took possession deep in their own territory with just 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Raiders came into the game allowing opposing passers a rating of 110, worst in the league. Brady's rating in the first half was 129.3. He finished with a rating of 131.9 before being relieved by Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter. 

PATRIOTS 33, RAIDERS 8

2. Raiders receivers are going to be in Derek Carr's dog house for the foreseeable future. They dropped four passes in the first half and six in total. One of the drops -- a pass that bounced off of Johnny Holton's shoulder pads in the first quarter -- led to a Duron Harmon pick. Even when they caught Carr's passes, Raiders receivers found a way to kill their team. Seth Roberts caught a Carr pass that almost put the Raiders in the end zone, but as Roberts stretched to pick up more ground -- maybe thinking he could score? -- Marquis Flowers punched the ball loose and Patrick Chung recovered to give the Patriots one more drive before the end of the first half. 

3. Stephen Gostkowski's 62-yarder before the end of the half gave the Patriots a score in the final minute of the first half for the seventh consecutive game. Just a ridiculous stat. And as they love to do, they received the kick to start the second half and promptly scored on a 64-yard bomb from Brady to Brandin Cooks. What could have been a 14-7 score at halftime was instead 24-0.

4. Patriots tackle depth was tested on Sunday and came away with largely positive results. LaAdrian Waddle did not allow a sack. He missed a series in the first quarter, giving way to Cameron Fleming, and he was rolled up on in the third which forced Fleming to briefly take over again. Fleming allowed a sack to Khalil Mack in the first quarter, but Brady was kept mostly upright for the remainder of the game. The Patriots could use Marcus Cannon back in the lineup, but in his absence Waddle has held his own against the likes of Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Von Miller and now Mack. 

5. Interesting to see the Patriots opt to kick all but one of their kickoffs deep into the Raiders end zone for touchbacks. The Patriots have one of the best kick-coverage units in the league, but Oakland return man Cordarrelle Patterson led the league in return average (30.8 yards) coming into the game. It made sense then that Bill Belichick took the approach he did. Even in the kicking game, he doesn't want one of your best weapons to beat his team. 

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