Do you think the New England Patriots have been looking forward to this rematch for over a year?
Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders visited Foxboro and handed the Patriots and their new head coach, Mike Vrabel, a loss in their home opener. It is a game that based on everything that happened after that marked that Las Vegas win the biggest upset of the 2025 season.
The Patriots lost on their home field to the Raiders before beginning a march that led them to Super Bowl LX. Las Vegas beat the Patriots on the road and then went on to get the first pick in the National Football League draft based on the worst record in football. Along the way, they also got their head coach, Pete Carroll, fired.
So do you think the Patriots are primed to drill the Silver and Black into submission in this return encounter in Foxboro?
I don’t.
Revenge happens when the team that lost the prior meeting is not confident of a victory in the return game. For the revenge motivation to fire, there needs to be a legitimate fear that another loss is likely.