Patriots Well Aware of What Raiders' Offensive Weapons Bring to the Table
For the Las Vegas Raiders to overcome the New England Patriots this Sunday, they will need yet another strong offensive showing from key players like wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs.
It won't be easy, though, as New England's defense will be well prepared for what to expect when they line up against these two.
With four games remaining, Adams is looking to achieve his fourth 1,300-plus receiving-yard season in five years.
"What's he at, 1,200 yards right now? He's a challenge to everybody," Patriots safety Devin McCourty said when he addressed the media Wednesday. "I think his ability to understand route concepts, and I think the hardest challenge for [facing] him is how he runs routes. He understands what guys read, what they know about how you set up routes, and he does the opposite. Sometimes he doesn't.
"And I think his change of pace and speed make him a real tough cover, and Josh [McDaniels] is using him in so many different places that it's hard to just say like: 'We're going to do this when he's here.' ... He's just all over the place, so we've just got to do a good job from the awareness standpoint of always knowing where he's at and just keep playing and compete against him."
Then there's Jacobs, who has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the season for Las Vegas in terms of what he's contributed week after week.
"He leads the league in rushing," Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said. "He's a strong, tough kid to tackle. Has got good contact balance. Very powerful guy, has good patience, sees the hole, sees lanes and as we saw, has breakaway speed. He's been able to go the distance and create some explosive runs, not just five- and six-yarders but he's had some home runs too. He's got that kind of ability, runs inside, runs outside, and has good vision.
"Again, good contact balance. He gets a lot of two, three, four extra yards after the first guy hits him, just because of his ability to play with a good pad level and play strong. Has good ball security. That's another great thing about him is he takes good care of the football. As their entire team does, I mean they don't fumble. All year, you can barely find a fumble on film."
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