3 Takeaways from Patriots' Week 15 Loss vs. Raiders

The New England Patriots had a prime opportunity to make up ground in the wild-card race on Sunday. However, a heartbreaking final play leaves New England on the outside looking in with three weeks left to play.

The final play was a stunner. The Patriots were tied with the inconsistent Las Vegas Raiders and heading to overtime. Instead of simply taking it to extra time, running back Rhamondre Stevenson flipped the ball back to wideout Jakobi Meyers, who in turn made an ill-advised lateral in the direction of Mac Jones. The Raiders' Chandler Jones snagged the ball out of mid-air and returned it for the unlikeliest of walk-off touchdowns.

The Patriots were looking for a miracle and instead handed one to the Raiders.

The loss dropped New England to 7-7 and left it slotted as the AFC's No. 8 seed. It was a disastrous end to an ugly day, and it leaves the Patriots needing help to make the postseason.

Here are our three biggest takeaways from the Patriots' 30-24 loss to the Raiders in Week 15.

Credit Meyers for taking the blame for New England's monumental blunder.

"I thought I saw Mac open. I didn't see Chandler Jones at the time," Meyers said, per Mark Daniels of MassLive. "Thought he was open, tried to give it to him and let him try and make a play with it. But the score was tied, so like I've said, I should've went down."

Indeed Meyers should have gone down. Stevenson should have gone down before that. Meyers insisted that the players were instructed to simply run the ball and go down, per Daniels. However, head coach Bill Belichick should bear some of the blame here, too.

With time for just one play and New England at its own 45-yard line, the Patriots should have had only two options—attempt a Hail Mary or kneel the ball and go to overtime. Belichick said that a long pass attempt wasn't on the table.

"Couldn't throw it that far," Belichick said of Jones, per Daniels.

If Belichick didn't trust Jones to get it to the end zone, he had no business running an actual play. The chances of breaking a 55-yard run were virtually nonexistent, about as likely as something catastrophic happening—which is how things unfolded.

It's easier to say in hindsight, of course, but the Patriots should have sat on it and taken their chances in overtime. New England found momentum in the second half, going on a 21-13 run, and might have been winners if they had just played a fifth period.

The Patriots did have a couple of standouts on Sunday, including Stevenson, who rumbled for 172 yards on the ground. However, the third-year pass-rusher Josh Uche was arguably the best player on the field for either team.

Uche, taken in the second round of the 2020 draft, continues to shine in his breakout campaign. After logging four sacks in his first two seasons, the 24-year-old has 10.5 in 2022. He also has eight tackles for loss and 19 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Reference.

"I told y'all I wasn't the best pass-rusher," Matt Judon told reporters, referencing Uche, after last week's win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Uche had three sacks against Arizona and had another strong day against Las Vegas. He had a half-sack, a quarterback hit and forced another sack when he pressured Derek Carr into the arms of linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley.

Things haven't gone perfectly for New England in 2022, but the Patriots' sixth-ranked defense has been solid. Uche's emergence is a big reason why.

The biggest takeaway from Sunday's loss is this: Even if the Patriots sneak into the playoffs, they're not going to be a legitimate threat in the AFC.

To get there, the Patriots must overtake the 8-6 Dolphins, stave off teams like the 7-7 Jets and 6-8 Jacksonville Jaguars, while winning games against the Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.

It's incredibly hard to see all of these things unfolding. Why? Because the Patriots can't get out of their own way, and their offense continues to be a mess 14 games into the season.

Aside from Stevenson, the Patriots offense was a brutal watch against Las Vegas. Jones finished 13-of-31 for just 112 yards. It's clear that he and the offensive game-planning tandem of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge aren't on the same page.

Plus, the Patriots don't trust Jones to do things like heave the ball 55 yards at the end of the game. New England's defense can keep it in games, but the offense isn't going to keep pace with teams like Miami, Cincinnati and Buffalo—in the regular season or after it.

Mathematically, New England still has a shot at the postseason, but in reality, the Patriots are already looking to 2023.