Skip to main content

It was as close to a complete performance on both sides of the ball for the New York Jets, who dismantled the Oakland Raiders 34-3 on Sunday. 

While the offensive onslaught was the talking point from the game, in particular another sparkling performance from quarterback Sam Darnold, the Jets defense was nothing short of dominant. The Raiders, while not a prolific offense, were a solid unit that effectively limits mistakes, grinds out drives and puts up points. 

Instead of physically dominating their opponent, the Raiders were frustrated all afternoon. Some of it was due to errors such as dropped passes and untimely penalties, leading to just 208 yards in total offense. 

Much of it, however, was the play of the Jets defense and a secondary that shut down the Raiders receiving corps and a defense that brought pressure at the right time to halt drives. 

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was limited to just 15-of-27 for 127 yards and an interception. He was sacked once and hit six times. The mood of the locker room, Carr said, tells only part of the story of a game where the Jets simply had their way with the Raiders. 

“You can look in some people’s eyes and some people react differently to getting punched in the mouth. Sadly enough, I’ve been on some teams where we’ve had our fair share of getting hit in the mouth, Carr said.  

 

“As frustrating as it is, let’s be honest, these six games that we’ve won, no one thought we could do that with who we have. We’re still good at football. We’re still a good football team, but it is what it is. We’re still building that foundation. Hopefully today is one of those moments that wakes everybody up and we rally back together like we have this season and we keep playing.”  

 

With the win, the Jets have now won three games in a row and are 4-7 on the year. The Raiders drop to 6-5 but are still firmly in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. 

For Carr, it was the lowest passer rating since Week 16 of the 2017 season (48.1 passer rating in a 19-10 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles). It was also his lowest passing yardage total since Week 3 of that very same 2017 season (118 passing yards in a 27-10 loss at the Washington Redskins) . 

The Raiders were 6-10 in 2017 and not a very good team, especially on offense. This Raiders team however is solid and entered Week 12 with sole possession of one of the AFC’s two Wild Card berths. 

That’s what made the play of the Jets, a team that was the underdog in the game, especially surprising. The Raiders were simply overmatched and overwhelmed on both sides of the ball. 

“Oh yeah, top to bottom in all phases. Give praise to the Jets,” Carr said.  

 

“They showed up better than we did. It’s unacceptable. It’s my fault. I take full responsibility.” 

 

Carr was benched late in what was a 21-point outburst of points in the third quarter by the Jets.