We are just a few days away from the Patriots' 2025 season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium, the first game in the past year that New England is actually favored to win. That wasn't the case at all last year, showing just how much of an impact Mike Vrabel has had on the franchise in the short amount of time he has been the head coach.
Among the biggest storylines heading into the game will revolve around Josh McDaniels' potential revenge against the team that infamously fired him on Halloween in 2023 when he was trick-or-treating with his kids. This will be the first time he faces off against them, and what better way to do that than with the team that he contributed so much to over the l last two decades.
Besides that exciting element, there is also a lot of hype surrounding how the improved roster will fare against another team actively rebuilding, especially since the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as their head coach and have been closely working with minority owner Tom Brady in assembling an upgraded roster.
But all of that has not translated over into the mainstream NFL, as we've seen with who will be in the commentary booth and how little the game is expected to be shown across the country. Although there is plenty of excitement over what the Patriots can do, it's clearly not widespread as much as fans might have thought.
The Patriots' 2025 season is still not one that is wanting to be seen by the majority of NFL fans
Game Announcers for Week 1 of the @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/ra1XRxzCJ1
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) September 2, 2025
CBS Sports announced the commentary teams for this week's slate of games, showing that the Patriots will be stuck with the D-squad of Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta in the booth, with Aditi Kinkhabwala on the sidelines.
They have become a household name in New England over the last few years, as they have called more Patriots games than any other group it seems during that time.
On top of that being a clear sign that the league is not wanting to showcase what the Patriots can do this year, their limited showings across the country further prove that, as they are only expected to be broadcast in the local markets, with most of the country being stuck with the Steelers at the Jets game instead solely due to Aaron Rodgers' arrival in Pittsburgh.
Not a ton of TV coverage from CBS for the Patriots' season opener Sunday against the Raiders. (via @506sports) pic.twitter.com/BiWNvqKQAw
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) September 3, 2025
For the time being, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Patriots continue to get the less common commentators until they (hopefully) start to line up some wins, increasing the interest in seeing what they can accomplish later in the season.
If they can do that, there's good reason to believe that they will be shown far more with some of the more liked commentary groups across all networks.