Patriots

New England on Sunday in search of his first coaching win against Bill Belichick’s Patriots. In his only other trip to New England in 2005, Gruden’s Buccaneers lost 28- 0.

He said opening this season at Carolina and playing New Orleans on Monday night made him feel as if he was in a “time warp” and back in the NFC South as Tampa Bay’s coach.

That nostalgia is even more amplified this week against the Patriots.

“Anytime you step in a

stadium like that, it does bring back memories,” Gruden said. “Some of the memories aren’t great, but we’re excited to play.”

So, too, is New England, which is trying to rebound from a 35-30 loss to Seattle.

As two coaches who basically ascended the coaching ranks around the same time, Belichick said his respect for Gruden has remained strong, even during his decade-long coaching hiatus after leaving Tampa Bay in 2008.

“It’s a lot easier to have a relationship with somebody who’s not in direct competition with you,” Belichick said.

He believes Gruden’s

time in the broadcast booth has given him a perspective he didn’t have in their previous two meetings.

But Belichick expects they will tuck away most of the pleasantries Sunday.

“When you’re in competition with somebody else, it just changes a little bit during that time period,” Belichick said. “But I’m sure at some point that it will be a different type of relationship.”

WATCH OUT FOR WALLER

Derek Carr’s favorite target this season has been his athletic tight end Darren Waller. The two connected on 12 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown last week

and Waller’s 18 catches are the second most through two weeks in Raiders history.

“He’ll definitely be a problem for us,” Belichick said. “There’s not one thing you can take away from him. He does a lot things, does a lot of things well.”

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore will likely draw the primary assignment on Waller. It comes a week after the reigning Defensive Player of the Year had a rough outing at Seattle, giving up a 54yard TD to DK Metcalf. It was the first TD Gilmore has allowed as the primary defender on a play since 2018.