“Buzz Off Every Week”: Drake Maye Addresses Concerns Surrounding Patriots’ Defense Amid Growing Injury Woes

The Week 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders was historic for the New England Patriots, and they played like it. The festivities began with a 25th-anniversary celebration of the team’s first Super Bowl-winning squad from 2001 and Adam Vinatieri’s Pro Football Hall of Fame ring ceremony, followed by quarterback Drake Maye’s five-touchdown performance.

The Patriots ultimately defeated the Raiders 45-17, securing their third win of the 2026 season. At the same time, however, New England is facing major injury concerns on defense, particularly in the secondary. The unit entered the game without four cornerbacks, including starting CB Christian Gonzalez. After the game, Maye addressed the injuries, acknowledging that the defense was fun to watch despite its injury woes.

“Like I’ve said all season, our defense plays their plays; they buzz off every week,” said Maye when asked about playing today down four cornerbacks. “So we get a chance to win, and look, you know, when we do our part, look what happens. So our defense is fun to watch, and we get to experience doing training camp. So it’s fun to watch them doing somebody else’s”.

The Patriots ruled out cornerbacks Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Channing Canada, and Karon Prunty ahead of the game. Gonzalez was dealing with a shoulder injury and did not practice Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. His absence removed one of the Patriots’ starting outside cornerbacks from the matchup.

Davis, meanwhile, had a neck injury and also missed the majority of the practices this week. With both Davis and Gonzalez out, New England had to rely on the depth chart. However, Canada was listed with a hamstring injury and was unavailable for the game, while Prunty was also unavailable with a hamstring injury.

It’s also worth noting that despite dealing with an injury-hit secondary, the Patriots’ defense came out on top against the Raiders. New England limited Las Vegas to just 17 points. The Raiders recorded 306 total yards, including 268 passing yards and just 38 rushing yards. Las Vegas also converted only 3 of 15 third-down attempts.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 19-of-28 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, while taking three sacks. Brock Bowers, however, still managed to record 8 receptions for 110 yards, but the Raiders clearly struggled in the run game.

That said, it’s safe to say that despite operating with a replacement secondary, the Patriots still managed to overcome the absences. New England opened the game on defense and immediately put its replacements to work. Charles Woods and practice-squad promotion Kindle Vildor broke up passes from Kirk Cousins, helping force a quick three-and-out on Las Vegas’ opening possession.

Then, in the second quarter, Milton Williams helped collapse the pocket, allowing Ponder to bring Cousins down for a four-yard sack on third-and-11. Ponder strip-sacked Cousins again near halftime, but Las Vegas recovered the fumble.

In the second half, meanwhile, New England also managed to produce a takeaway. Vildor broke up a pass intended for Bowers during a Raiders three-and-out, while pressure from the defensive front disrupted another possession. Later in the quarter, Cousins completed a pass to Bowers on fourth-and-three. However, Kevin Byard and Vildor forced a fumble, and safety Craig Woodson recovered the fumble for New England’s first takeaway.

Meanwhile, the Patriots’ offense was aggressive as well. Drake Maye completed 26-of-34 passes for 374 yards, four passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown. He opened the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas, capping a five-play, 76-yard drive.

On the Patriots’ next scoring drive, Maye connected with rookie Efton Chism III for a 17-yard gain and found Douglas on a fourth-down conversion. Those plays helped sustain an 11-play, 84-yard possession that ended with Rhamondre Stevenson’s five-yard rushing touchdown.

After Stevenson produced two significant runs, Maye found tight end Hunter Henry on a 26-yard screen pass to move the Patriots inside the Raiders’ 15-yard line. Maye then connected with Henry for a touchdown, giving New England a 21–7 halftime advantage.

After halftime, Drake Maye found Kyle Williams for a 34-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 28–7 before finishing a three-yard rushing touchdown to increase the lead to 35–10. Eventually, he led the Patriots to a 45-17 win over the Raiders, as the team now sits at 3-2 after the first five weeks of the season.

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