Faria's Focus Week 8: 5 Jets Thoughts as Losing Streak Extends to Three With Loss to Raiders

It's starting to seem like fans shouldn't expect more than the status quo moving forward.

Sunday afternoon's disappointing loss to the Raiders has left Sports Illustrated's Nick Faria with some key takeaways to consider. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

It's obvious that definition should be the centerpiece of the Jets' slogan by now.

New York gave up 24 second-half points after leading by nine at the half, and found a way to lose another one-score game on Sunday. Las Vegas moved to 4-4 with rookie head coach Klint Kubiak, with a 38-33 win.

The Jets' 2-6 record now shows a team that is bad in situational football and still in the early phases of a rebuild. With that said, it's time to break down some of the most important thoughts from the team's loss on Sunday.

Let's get to five of them here.

1. It is what it is with Jets' 2026 coaching staff

No one is really surprised by Sunday's loss. Gang Green has seen five of their six defeats come by one score this season, and much of that is due to in-game decision-making mistakes by the coaching staff. It is evident that, after 25 games, they aren't going to learn from their mistakes or get better.

Many of the issues in Sunday's loss to the Raiders came from in-game decisions. New York continuously settled for field goals instead of going for touchdowns on four offensive drives. ESPN's tracker listed three of those decisions as mistakes, including both field goals kicked in the first half.

When the Jets were kicking field goals, the Raiders were scoring touchdowns.

There's also the reality that the Jets' defense simply isn't good enough. Injuries certainly play a part, but for a head coach who touted that play-calling was his superpower, the results have been simply unacceptable.

Asking the Jets to alter their staff or make changes in the middle of a 2-6 start to the season would not be the correct move. New York currently has the fourth, sixth and 10th overall selections in the 2027 draft, according to Tankathon. The Jets should aim to keep their pick as high as possible.

Jets GM Darren Mougey should start focusing on the 2027 NFL Draft as the current season keeps slipping away. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It would be best for the organization to keep the staff where it is, and allow them to bottom out.

2. Long-term benefits to season show out

We've already talked about one of the long-term benefits of this season crumbling, as it has for the Jets. They could be the first team in NFL history to have three first-round picks all inside the top 10.

But that isn't the only benefit to what the Jets have shown on taoe.

There is a lot to like about New York's offensive firepower. Last week, Omar Cooper Jr. and Mason Taylor had excellent games. This week, Adonai Mitchell's seven-catch, 147-yard game even overshadowed a bounce-back performance from Garrett Wilson. Add in an offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage in the run game, and the Jets have a collection of young offensive weapons that the next coaching staff won't be able to overlook.

For as bad as the season has become, the more offensive success the team has, the easier it will be to lure another coach to do the job when they get to that point in January.

3. Jets' running game situation

New York has been left with no choice here. Braelon Allen, after another incredible performance on Sunday, has snatched the Jets' starting running back role from Breece Hall, who has been out for the last five weeks due to an injury.

On Sunday, Allen recorded 146 yards on 21 carries, including a 21-yard score to give the Jets a two-score lead late in the third quarter. Over his last four games as a starter, Allen has 440 yards rushing combined, including becoming the first running back since Curtis Martin in 2004 to have three straight 100-yard games.

Braelon Allen scores and now has 142 rushing yards on the day!

LVvsNYJ on FOX/FOX One
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— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

Afterwards, Glenn still commited his loyalty to Hall in making sure he would be 100% before returning to the field.

"Breece is still a part of this team," Glenn said. "I've said it before: We're in the business of keeping good players and he's one of our better players so he'll be here."

But reading between the lines, it's clear that Allen is going to be the team's bellcow moving forward. It wouldn't make sense any other way.

4. Defense has been set up to fail

Multiple things can be true about New York's defense.

1. Injuries have gutted what was supposed to be the strength of this unit (defensive line).
2. They don't have the star power to compete against good offenses.
3. They are being fundamentally set up to fail.

The last point may not seem fair to the coaching staff or talent, but context must be included. In the Raiders' first two offensive touchdowns of the day, the team targeted All-Pro-caliber tight end Brock Bowers, who found himself matched up against a cornerback.

What defensive coach would want Jarvis Brownlee or Brandon Stephens covering an athletic freak like Bowers, especially in a goal-line situation?

New York's defensive alignment, focusing heavily on four down linemen due to the injuries, also cost the unit. Las Vegas had just 2.9 yards per carry, but the team also had all day to throw. That's because the Jets do not have the pass rushers needed to be consistent on every down. There were limited adjustments, and they didn't have much of a plan when their blitzes weren't working.

Again, injuries have something to do with that, but coaching matters. And for a team that is 5-20 with Glenn as head coach and defensive play-caller, it will only reflect on him.

5. Don't expect major changes until January

For yours truly, Sunday was a nightmare. I'm colorblind, so you had a better chance of me kicking a 60-yard field goal than figuring out if Raiders fans had taken over MetLife Stadium at the start of the game. The green and black looked exactly the same.

That said, you didn't need to see Raider fans to know they were there. They DID take over MetLife Stadium. Those fans even had an impact on the game, as the crowd noise pushed Olu Fashanu into a false start late in the contest.

Jets fans aren't exactly shocked by that. After 15 years of no playoffs and soon-to-be 11 years of finishing below .500, MetLife Stadium has normally been overtaken by opposing fans for years now.

And no one should expect that to change until a new coaching staff has been brought in.

Until then, MetLife will repeatedly find opposing fans cheering for their teams, and any home-field advantage the Jets probably wish they had will go by the wayside. It's what happens to a battered fanbase like this.

It's not like the Jets have changed much from their mindset over the years.

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