The Patriots were the heaviest favorites in the NFL this week. But the Raiders didn’t make it easy today in New England.
Although Oakland stormed back and appeared to have scored a game-tying touchdown in the final minute, a penalty wiped that touchdown off the board and the Patriots survived to beat the Raiders 16-9.
The Patriots sealed the win when Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dropped back to pass and hit receiver Denarius Moore, only to have the ball ricochet off both Moore and Patriots defensive back Logan Ryan before New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork -- of all people -- intercepted it to clinch the game.
As he has been for most of the season, Tom Brady was unspectacular. But he did enough not to lose, completing 24 of 36 passes for 234 yards, with one touchdown (to Rob Gronkowski) and no interceptions.
Carr was not particularly good, completing 21 of 34 passes for 174 yards. But he didn’t have any interceptions until that game clincher, which was not his fault.
And that’s about all the Raiders can hang their hats on -- Carr wasn’t terrible, and they weren’t terrible. But they also weren’t good enough to win.