The Raiders head out East again to the Meadowlands this time to face the New York Jets. The Raiders are coming off a disappointing loss on the road to the Cowboys in a game they led by 14. You can just about count on the Raiders having an early lead in this one, as they are one of the fastest starting teams in the NFL, but one of the worst closers. It's not a stretch to see this team end the season at 4-12 and possibly having one of the top 3 picks in next year's draft, after only needing a win a couple of weeks ago to jump up into the final playoff spot. Coach Dennis Allen insists this is a different team, though, than we've seen the last couple of years that have started the season well and tanked at the end. One way to show that this team is different is by beating the Jets and win in the Eastern Time Zone for the first time since anyone can remember. They will finish the season with the Broncos, Chiefs and Chargers. Let's take a look at the matchups and predict a winner.
Raiders Offense vs. Jets Defense
The Raiders will most likely be without their top 3 rushing leaders in Jennings, Pryor and McFadden against the top rushing defense in the NFL. They will most likely look to Marcel Reese for carries and Taiwan Jones, who they had previously moved to the defensive side of the ball at the start of the season. Much will be asked of Rookie Matt McGloin to carry the offense to victory, something that has been a struggle to do his first four starts of his career. The stat to closely watch is 3rd Down conversions on both sides of the ball. This is an area that has caused them to lose the games they started out fast in. They could not convert third downs of their own and they could not stop their opponents from converting third downs. This was an emphasis in practice this week. The Jets strength lies in their defense, namely their rush defense, where they have only allowed 77 yards/game on the ground.
Advantage: Jets
Raiders Defense vs. Jets Offense
The Jets have decided to stick with their rookie QB Geno Smith, even though he leads the league in interceptions thrown with 19. Expect Jason Tarver to bring lots of pressure and different looks to confuse Smith and force him into mistakes. They need to keep the heat on all game, however, something they didn't do last week against Dallas and paid for it.
Advantage: Raiders
Special Teams
The Raiders have still not gotten much explosion out of their return game, but Marquette King and Sebastian Janikowski are one of the better duos in the league. The Jets have a good kicker in Nick Folk and a dangerous return man in Josh Cribbs.
Advantage: Raiders
Prediction: Jets 17, Raiders 14
Stat to note: The Jets have scored only 20 points combined in their last three games, less than the Raiders scored last week against Dallas (24). They have also scored less than 10 points in a game five times this year.
Record to Date: 5-5
Raiders Offense vs. Jets Defense
The Raiders will most likely be without their top 3 rushing leaders in Jennings, Pryor and McFadden against the top rushing defense in the NFL. They will most likely look to Marcel Reese for carries and Taiwan Jones, who they had previously moved to the defensive side of the ball at the start of the season. Much will be asked of Rookie Matt McGloin to carry the offense to victory, something that has been a struggle to do his first four starts of his career. The stat to closely watch is 3rd Down conversions on both sides of the ball. This is an area that has caused them to lose the games they started out fast in. They could not convert third downs of their own and they could not stop their opponents from converting third downs. This was an emphasis in practice this week. The Jets strength lies in their defense, namely their rush defense, where they have only allowed 77 yards/game on the ground.
Advantage: Jets
Raiders Defense vs. Jets Offense
The Jets have decided to stick with their rookie QB Geno Smith, even though he leads the league in interceptions thrown with 19. Expect Jason Tarver to bring lots of pressure and different looks to confuse Smith and force him into mistakes. They need to keep the heat on all game, however, something they didn't do last week against Dallas and paid for it.
Advantage: Raiders
Special Teams
The Raiders have still not gotten much explosion out of their return game, but Marquette King and Sebastian Janikowski are one of the better duos in the league. The Jets have a good kicker in Nick Folk and a dangerous return man in Josh Cribbs.
Advantage: Raiders
Prediction: Jets 17, Raiders 14
Stat to note: The Jets have scored only 20 points combined in their last three games, less than the Raiders scored last week against Dallas (24). They have also scored less than 10 points in a game five times this year.
Record to Date: 5-5
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