The Las Vegas Raiders enter Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots with good and bad news on the injury report. The Patriots are a solid team. They reached the Super Bowl last season before losing to the Seattle Seahawks, and they beat the Buffalo Bills in a shootout last week.

New England’s start was rough, with some ugly losses in the first few weeks. However, the Patriots may have found something. Meanwhile, the Raiders are trying to bounce back after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and that gets harder as injuries pile up in Las Vegas. But the Patriots are banged up too, and that’s where the good news starts.

The good news: The Patriots will be without some key players

You never wish an injury on any player. That said, it helps the Raiders because they won’t have to face several key pieces of the New England roster. The Patriots will be without:

• Christian Gonzalez, CB – Carlton Davis, CB – Mack Hollins, WR – Reggie Gilliam, FB

The big one here is Gonzalez. He’s one of the league’s best cornerbacks, if not the best, and he’s paid like it. Losing him alone changes how New England can match up on the outside. Davis is a solid cornerback, too, so the Patriots are down two starting-caliber players in the secondary. On the other side of the ball, Hollins is a good receiver who wins jump balls and is always a threat in the end zone. Not having to see those players only helps Las Vegas.

The bad news: The Raiders have injury problems of their own

Here’s where it gets tougher for the Raiders. Wide receiver Jalen Nailor is already ruled out. He suffered a concussion last week and left the game. Rookie offensive lineman Trey Zuhn is also out with a knee injury. So, Las Vegas will be without both of them against New England. Then there’s starting running back Ashton Jeanty, who is questionable for the Patriots game. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak didn’t explain Jeanty’s status, but he did offer a general update on where the roster stands.

“It’s that time of year, guys are getting banged up,” Kubiak said.

Jeanty is the engine of this offense, so his status is the one to watch heading into the weekend.

Dont’e Thornton Jr. won’t be activated this week

One more piece of bad news for the Raiders. Wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr., who has been out with a hamstring injury for some time, will not be activated this week. Many people were excited about the possibility of the second-year receiver making his season debut. The timing would have made sense, too. Jack Besh is out with a fractured forearm, and Naylor is out with a concussion, so the receiver room could use the help.

That would have been a big boost, but it won’t happen this week. To be fair, Thornton probably wouldn’t have been much of a threat in this offense right now anyway. He hasn’t played a game this season, so he’s likely a bit behind.

Looking at both injury reports, the Raiders get some help on one side and take some hits on the other. Facing New England without Gonzalez, Davis, and Hollins makes this matchup more manageable than it looked earlier in the week.

However, Las Vegas is thin at wide receiver, down a rookie lineman, and could be without its starting running back. Either way, the Raiders will need to move the ball against a Patriots team playing its best football of the season.