NFL Game Summary - Oakland at New England
Foxboro, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Vince Wilfork intercepted a deflected pass deep in New England territory after Oakland had a potential tying touchdown negated by a penalty, as the Patriots held on for a 16-9 victory over the Raiders on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
The Raiders held New England to a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter to keep it a seven-point game and marched from their own 38 to the New England 6 in the final minutes. Darren McFadden found a big hole and cruised into the end zone, but a holding penalty wiped out the touchdown.
"Definitely thought we scored a touchdown. The referee ruled it a hold, so you know you got to roll with whatever they call," McFadden said.
Derek Carr then tried to hit Denarius Moore with a short pass, but the ball deflected off the receiver's hands and into the arms of Wilfork at the New England 11 with just under a minute to play.
The Patriots (2-1) were able to run out the remaining time to earn their second straight win.
"I thought the players did a good job of making the plays we had to make here at the end of the game; good situational football, did a pretty good job of handling that," said New England head coach Bill Belichick. "Defensively, any time you can keep a team out of the end zone, you have to feel good about that."
Tom Brady was held in check for the most part, throwing for 234 yards with a touchdown on 24-of-37 passing. Rob Gronkowski caught the TD pass and Julian Edelman had 10 receptions for 84 yards.
Carr completed 21-of-34 passes for 174 yards and McFadden finished with 59 yards on 18 carries for Oakland (0-3), which is winless after three games for the first time since an 0-5 start in 2006.
The Raiders, held to three Sebastian Janikowski field goals, have lost 15 straight games in the Eastern time zone. They'll head further east for their next game, a matchup next Sunday with Miami in London.
Each team had four offensive possessions in a quickly played first half.
Oakland took its second series 50 yards in 13 plays and grabbed a 3-0 lead on a 49-yard Janikowski field goal.
New England, after a pair of punts in the opening quarter, scored 10 points in the second. A 15-play, 84-yard drive featured five third-down conversions, one thanks to a pass interference penalty on an incomplete pass, and ended with Brady's 6-yard scoring toss to Gronkowski.
The Raiders then went three-and-out and the Patriots tacked on a 21-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal as time expired in the half.
Oakland picked up a pair of Janikowski field goals in the third. A 37-yard kick capped the Raiders' first drive of the second half and a 29-yard pass from Carr to Andre Holmes on 3rd-and-4 set up a 47-yard boot to make it 10-9 with 2:21 left in the third.
Brady then drove the Patriots to the Oakland 2, but threw incomplete on second and third down before Gostkowski drilled a 20-yard field goal to extend the margin to four early in the fourth.
After another Oakland three-and-out, Gostkowski capped a 12-play, 63-yard set with a 36-yard field goal to make it 16-9 with 6:20 remaining.