Maye accounts for five touchdowns as Patriots rout Raiders

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Interstat) — Drake Maye threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, and New England rolled past Las Vegas 45-17 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Maye completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, ran seven times for 25 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the NFL game. The Patriots improved to 3-2, and the Raiders dropped to 3-2. Attendance was 64,628. The Patriots scored in every quarter and led throughout the second half.

New England opened the scoring with 11:23 remaining in the first quarter. Maye connected with DeMario Douglas on a deep right pass for a 35-yard touchdown, and Andy Borregales added the extra point. Las Vegas answered with 8:19 left in the first when Kirk Cousins found Brock Bowers for a 13-yard touchdown on a short right pass. Matt Gay’s extra point tied the game. The Patriots reclaimed the lead with 1:30 remaining in the first on Rhamondre Stevenson’s 5-yard run off left guard, with Borregales converting. With 24 seconds left before halftime, Maye hit Hunter Henry for an 11-yard touchdown on a short middle pass.

In the third quarter, Maye found Kyle Williams deep left for a 34-yard touchdown with 12:58 remaining, and Borregales’ extra point extended the lead. Las Vegas got a 46-yard field goal from Gay with 8:30 remaining. Maye then scored on a 3-yard run around left end with 3:10 left in the third, and Borregales added the point. With 14:12 remaining in the fourth, Borregales made a 28-yard field goal. Las Vegas responded with Dylan Laube’s 2-yard touchdown run off right tackle with 10:49 remaining, and Gay’s extra point trimmed the margin. Cory Durden was injured on the play, and a defensive holding penalty on DaQuan Jones was declined. Maye closed the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Douglas on a short right throw with 6:06 remaining, and Borregales converted. New England answered each Las Vegas score with points of its own.

Maye was the game’s top star. In his most recent previous performance, against Buffalo, he completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, ran eight times for 53 yards and threw three touchdowns. Against Las Vegas, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Maye, a Huntersville, N.C., native, spread the ball to several targets. Douglas had four receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Williams had three receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown, plus three kick returns for 71 yards. Henry had three receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Eli Raridon added five receptions for 57 yards, while Efton Chism III had five receptions for 57 yards and one run for 2 yards. Stevenson finished with 13 carries for 64 yards, three receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown. Corey Kiner had six carries for 52 yards, one reception for 7 yards and one tackle. TreVeyon Henderson added four carries for 22 yards and one reception for 16 yards. Romeo Doubs had one reception for 16 yards. Marcus Jones returned two punts for 29 yards and made four tackles. Mitch Wishnowsky punted twice for 81 yards, and Borregales made his only field goal attempt.

New England’s defense produced pressure and tackles throughout. Christian Elliss led with seven tackles. Elijah Ponder had six tackles and two sacks. Robert Spillane and Darius Muasau each had five tackles. Kindle Vildor, Mike Brown, Charles Woods and Dre’Mont Jones each had four tackles. Kevin Byard, Marcus Jones and Craig Woodson each had three tackles. Elliott Davison, Gabe Jacas, Milton Williams and Jaylen Reed each had two tackles. Leonard Taylor III had one tackle and one sack. Cory Durden, K.J. Britt, Cameron Latu, Erick Hunter and Namdi Obiazor each had one tackle. DaQuan Jones was listed without a tackle.

Las Vegas was led by Cousins, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown. Fernando Mendoza completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards and ran once for 3 yards. Bowers caught eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Tre Tucker had four receptions for 41 yards, and Cody White had two receptions for 44 yards. Deven Thompkins had one reception for 8 yards, three kick returns for 80 yards and one punt return for 18 yards. Ian Thomas had one reception for 9 yards, Malik Benson had one reception for 6 yards and Michael Mayer had one reception for 2 yards. Defensively, Nakobe Dean made 12 tackles. Jeremy Chinn and Darien Porter each had seven tackles. Taron Johnson had six tackles, Treydan Stukes had five, Quay Walker had four and Eric Stokes had three.

The Raiders entered after a 30-27 loss to Kansas City, a 35-27 win at New Orleans, a 26-14 win at the Los Angeles Chargers and a 27-13 home win over Miami. The Patriots entered after a 29-26 win at Buffalo, a 35-6 loss at Jacksonville, a 20-3 home win over Pittsburgh and a 13-10 loss at Seattle. Las Vegas next hosts Buffalo and then the Los Angeles Rams before road games at the New York Jets and San Francisco. New England next hosts the New York Jets and then visits Chicago, Miami and Green Bay. Both teams continue their regular-season schedules next week.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New England 40, Las Vegas 14. Interstat’s ELO system had projected New England with a 94.7 percent probability to win. Las Vegas had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +3.5. The total score of 62 went under the over/under line of 45.5.