New England Patriots team grades vs Oakland Raiders Week 11

The Patriots pass defense has been much maligned at times this season. They started the season off poorly, surrendering at least 300 yards passing the first six weeks of the season. They began turning a corner in Week 7, but skepticism remained. There should not be much skepticism remaining after their performance in Week 11.

The Patriots shut down Derek Carr and company for most of the afternoon. Carr came into the game playing well, surpassing 300 yards passing in three consecutive weeks. However, Carr was unable to get anything going for a majority of the game, as he never looked comfortable. His receivers didn’t help him much as the Raiders had multiple drops in the game.

Carr completed 28-of-49 passes for only 237 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Carr interacted with Trey Flowers more times than he would have liked as Flowers registered four quarterback hits. He was also credited with half of a sack along with linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

After getting torched by Emmanuel Sanders last week, the Patriots tightened things up on the outside. The leading receiver for Oakland was Michael Crabtree with six receptions for 51 yards. Amari Cooper hauled in Carr’s touchdown pass.

The Patriots were able to limit the big plays, something they didn’t do well against Denver. Oakland was unable to gain any traction, which led to another strong showing for the Patriots defense. This now makes four consecutive games they have allowed fewer than 300 yards passing.