Las Vegas rolls into Gillette Stadium with the better record, but New England's secondary is a mess heading into Sunday.

The Las Vegas Raiders sit at 3-1 after dropping their last one to the Chiefs, while the New England Patriots are 2-2 and riding a one-game win streak after beating Buffalo. Kickoff is 1:00 PM ET on CBS, with cloudy skies and a mild 61 degrees expected at Gillette Stadium. New England is favored by 3.5 points with the total set at 45.5, meaning both offenses are expected to find the end zone plenty.

Game details

WhenSunday, October 11, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET
WhereGillette Stadium
TVCBS
LineNew England Patriots -3.5 | O/U 45.5 (market view)
Las Vegas Raiders record3-1
New England Patriots record2-2

The matchup

The Raiders have been the more consistent team through four weeks, outscoring opponents 115-84 and winning three of four, including a 35-27 shootout win over New Orleans and a 27-13 win over Miami. Their only blemish is last week's 27-30 loss to Kansas City. New England has been streakier — a 6-35 blowout loss to Jacksonville in Week 3 sandwiched between a 20-3 win over Pittsburgh and last week's 29-26 win over Buffalo. The Patriots have been outscored 77-65 on the year, a sign their defense hasn't been as sharp as the win total suggests.

New England caught fire against Buffalo last week, and now they get a Raiders offense that's scored at least 26 points in three of its last four games. The Patriots defense has to do it without a chunk of its secondary, and that's the backdrop for everything that happens Sunday.

Key matchups

Brock Bowers against whatever New England trots out at cornerback is the matchup of the day. With Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III both out and Channing Canada also sidelined, Kirk Cousins should have plenty of room to work the middle of the field with his tight end, who projects for 17.0 DraftKings points, tops among all players in this game.

Drake Maye against a Raiders defense that just let Kansas City hang 30 points is the other side of the coin. Maye's been up and down, but he gets a favorable matchup if Las Vegas can't generate pressure after giving up chunks of yardage through the air last week.

Ashton Jeanty's ankle is the swing factor for the Raiders' ground game. He's questionable, and if he's limited or sits, Mike Washington Jr. steps into a bigger role. On the other side, Rhamondre Stevenson is also questionable with a knee issue, putting more pressure on TreVeyon Henderson if Stevenson can't go.

Injuries that matter

Las Vegas is down two wide receivers — Jalen Nailor (concussion) and Dont'e Thornton Jr. (hamstring) are both out — and will be without starting center Trey Zuhn III (knee). That thins out Cousins' options outside of Bowers and Tre Tucker. Jeanty's ankle is the one to watch closest; a limited workload there funnels more carries to Washington.

New England's injury list is long and leans heavy on the defensive side. Cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III are both out, along with Channing Canada, gutting the secondary against a Raiders passing attack that leans on Bowers. Christian Barmore, Christian Elliss and Dre'Mont Jones are all questionable up front and at linebacker. On offense, Mack Hollins is out at receiver and Rhamondre Stevenson is questionable with a knee injury, while tackle Morgan Moses is questionable with a foot issue.

Fantasy angles

Brock Bowers is the clear top start in this game at 17.0 projected DraftKings points, and the matchup against a banged-up New England secondary only boosts the outlook. Start him with confidence.

Kirk Cousins projects for 15.5 points and gets a defense missing three cornerbacks — that's a green light for a bigger-than-usual passing day.

Drake Maye checks in at 16.0 points and should see enough volume to hit value even if the Raiders defense tightens up after last week.

Ashton Jeanty's questionable tag makes him a game-time watch; at 12.5 projected points there's upside if he's full-go, but check in before locking him into lineups.

Mack Hollins is out, so he's off the board regardless of his 7.0 projection — look elsewhere in the Patriots receiving corps if you need a replacement piece.

The pick

The market has New England favored by 3.5 with a total of 45.5, and the market score sits at Patriots 25, Raiders 21. That lines up with a game where Las Vegas should move the ball through the air against a secondary stripped of its top three cornerbacks, but New England's offense has shown enough juice the last two weeks to keep pace. The edge here goes to the Raiders' passing attack finding enough big plays to make this one closer than the home line suggests.

Injury report

PlayerTeamPosStatus
Ashton JeantyLas Vegas RaidersRBQuestionable
Jalen NailorLas Vegas RaidersWROut
Dont'e Thornton Jr.Las Vegas RaidersWROut
Trey Zuhn IIILas Vegas RaidersCOut
Reggie GilliamNew England PatriotsFBOut
Mack HollinsNew England PatriotsWROut
Morgan MosesNew England PatriotsOTQuestionable
Rhamondre StevensonNew England PatriotsRBQuestionable
Christian BarmoreNew England PatriotsDTQuestionable
Channing CanadaNew England PatriotsCBOut
Carlton Davis IIINew England PatriotsCBOut
Christian EllissNew England PatriotsLBQuestionable
Christian GonzalezNew England PatriotsCBOut
Dre'Mont JonesNew England PatriotsDEQuestionable

Projected starters

PosLas Vegas RaidersNew England Patriots
QBKirk CousinsDrake Maye
RBAshton Jeanty, Mike Washington Jr.Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson
WRTre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Cody WhiteRomeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III
TEBrock BowersHunter Henry

Recent results

TeamLast games
Las Vegas RaidersWk4 L 27-30 vs Kansas City Chiefs, Wk3 W 35-27 vs New Orleans Saints, Wk2 W 26-14 vs Los Angeles Chargers
New England PatriotsWk4 W 29-26 vs Buffalo Bills, Wk3 L 6-35 vs Jacksonville Jaguars, Wk2 W 20-3 vs Pittsburgh Steelers

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In this story

Written by Rhett Zone, an AI analyst, from News Hub Fantasy data (schedule, scores, box scores, injuries and depth charts), and checked against that data before it published automatically. Read how we use AI in our editorial standards.