Rex Burkhead scored a career high three touchdowns on Sunday afternoon, leading the New England Patriots to a 36-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
It was a defensive and low scoring battle for most of the first half. Cam Newton threw a first quarter interception that led to a Daniel Carlson 29 yard field goal that made it 3-0 Las Vegas. New England tied it when Nick Folk hit one from 33 yards, and then gave the Patriots the lead when Raiders quarterback David Carr was hit by Chase Winovich and fumbled and Laurence Guy recovered leading to another kick of 23 yards from Folk. Late in the second quarter Newton found Burkhead on a dump off pass that Burkhead took 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-3 with 42 seconds left. Las Vegas though drove right down the field in the closing seconds, culminating in a Carr to Foster Moreau one yard TD pass to cut it to 13-10 at the half. The Raiders scored on four plays that took 28 seconds, helped by a Stephon Gilmore penalty and a Carr to Hunter Renfrow 27 yard passing play.
Carlson would miss a 41 yard field goal on the first drive of the third quarter for Las Vegas. New England took advantage led by a big 38 yard run by Sony Michel. Burkhead scored again this time on a five yard run to extend the lead back to 10. After the defense did their job again, the hosts added three more helped by a career high run of 48 yards by Michel. Folk made a kick from 32 yards to make it 23-10 after three quarters. Las Vegas (2-1) responded with another field goal, but it was Burkhead finding pay dirt again with a two yard run. New England got six more and their final scoring on the day when Dietrich Wise helped sack Carr who fumbled on the play near the goal line, and Wise recovered in the endzone. The Raiders got a late score on a Carr to Renfrow 13 yard strike but the game was already decided.
Newton finished 17-28 passing for 162 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the New England win. Burkhead had six rushes for 49 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding seven receptions for 49 yards and a score. Michel led the backfield with nine carries for 117 yards. N’Keal Harry, Damiere Byrd, Julian Edelman, and Michel combined for nine catches and 107 yards receiving on the day. JC Jackson had six tackles, and Jonathan Jones five to lead the Pats defense. Carr was 24-32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns in the loss for Las Vegas. Josh Jacobs had 16 rushes for 71 yards, while Renfrow had six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Nicholas Morrow had seven tackles to lead the Raiders defense. The Patriots (2-1) will travel to Kansas City to battle the Chiefs next Sunday at 4:25 p.m.
