The New England Patriots have just achieved back-to-back wins in 2026. With their 45-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday, confidence is high around this team, which just two weeks ago looked like it might fall to the bottom of the league before all was said and done.

As mentioned on the Patriots Roundtable Podcast, New England played great complementary football. The offense obviously found the end zone numerous times, and the 'Patriots' front four made it hard for quarterback Kirk Cousins to sling it downfield all afternoon.

With so much good and very little not, this is the first hard Stock up, Stock Down of the season, but either way, let's take a look at who is flying sky-high into Week 6 and who needs a bounce-back.

Stock Up

Drake Maye

For the second week in a row, the 2024 third overall pick makes the Stock Up category. In Week 4 in Buffalo, Drake Maye looked like the quarterback Patriots fans were used to seeing from last year. In Week 5, he dug even deeper and gave us his best statistical game of 2026.

Maye threw for 374 yards and went 26 of 34 with 4 passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown of his own. If Maye can keep playing like he did this past Sunday through the end of the season, the rest of the NFL should be on notice.

On a side note, if Maye plays like that for the rest of the year, he won't be in the Stock Up category every week; that would just be too easy.

Kyle Williams 

Jumping out of last week's Stock Down category is second-year wide receiver Kyle Williams. Sure, Williams caught only 3 passes for 91 yards, but that touchdown was impressive and felt long overdue.

Williams also logged 3 kick returns for 71 yards, then told the press he feels his confidence is back up after such a noteworthy performance on Sunday.

Up until this point, Williams hadn't shown much on the field this season, so this was a good sign he can now be in the mix, even if it's just making plays on his trademark "go route" runs.

Elijah Ponder 

Over the last five weeks, Elijah Ponder has become the New England Patriots' most consistent player. The second-year edge rusher was key in mixing up the Raiders' pass protection against Kirk Cousins.

Ponder recorded 6 tackles (4 solo, 2 assisted), 2 sacks (a new career high), 2 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and three hits on the quarterback. He now leads the team with 4.5 sacks.

PFF also gave Ponder a 26.1% pass-rush win rate on Sunday. Milton Williams does deserve some credit here. The Patriots defensive tackle took on a few double teams, which freed Ponder up to have a field day in Week 5.

Stock Down

Cory Durden

Kirk Cousins didn't get to have a good game for the Raiders on Sunday. Several factors on the field that day helped the Patriots' defense; Cory Dueden was low on the list of guys who made an impact.

The Patriots DT/NT missed two tackles and, according to PFF, was the lowest-rated run defender in the group on Sunday.

Durden got his feet tangled up in a play, and many thought he would become another injury victim for the Patriots, but he returned a few plays later to help guard an extra-point try for the Raiders.

Ben Brown 

Speaking of the lowest PFF grades, on the opposite side of the ball. Ben Brown was the Patriots' lowest-graded blocker, according to PFF on Sunday.

The right guard got a 46.8 overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade in Week 5.

Brown picked up two penalties that hurt a drive; outside of that, there isn't much to bash him for here. The backup right guard performed better than he did last week in Buffalo.

Corey Kiner 

RB3 Corey Kiner's stock fell after he entered the game on Sunday for RB2 TreyVeyon Henderson, who left with an injury. Kiner moved the ball well. He had 6 touches for 52 yards.

But a second-quarter fumble the Raiders recovered slowed his role. The Patriots may no longer think Kiner is the answer at RB3 while Henderson is back out again.

As a result, the Patriots signed Hassan Haskins to the practice squad this week. Haskins spent the summer with the team, and many are keeping an eye on what they plan to do with practice squad RB Lan Larison.

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