Oakland Raiders: 5 matchups to watch vs. New York Jets
By John Buhler
The Oakland Raiders will host the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon in Week 2. Here are five matchups to keep an eye on in this upcoming game.
Week 2 is here in the 2017 NFL season. It will begin on Thursday night, as the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Houston Texans at Paul Brown Stadium. While that’s not a great television game, the one the Oakland Raiders will be playing in probably won’t be much better.
This week, the Silver and Black will play their home opener as the team welcomes the lowly New York Jets to the Coliseum. Kickoff from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum will be at 1:05 p.m. PT. CBS will have the broadcast with Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts in the booth.
While Raider Nation is amped for this game, it could be very much a one-sided affair. The Raiders are an overwhelming favorite in this game, laying at least 10 points to New York from the jump. Nevertheless, there are a handful of man-on-man matchups that should have our intrigue heading into this game.
Without further ado, here are the five matchups on the gridiron that are worth paying attention to when the Raiders host the Jets on Sunday afternoon in Oakland.
5. Karl Joseph vs. Matt Forte
This matchup is more about seeing strong safety Karl Joseph have a great game. He’s an incredibly versatile defensive back for the Raiders, as he is able to play up in the box to stop the run and drop back into coverage to break up a key pass.
With the Jets lacking anything close to elite personnel, he may need to put his focus on stopping the run. New York has a running back that at one time was elite for the Chicago Bears in Matt Forte. Though he is well past his prime, Forte is still capable of making a big play or two per game for the Jets offense.
This is where Joseph can come in and make a huge difference. Expect Oakland defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. to repeatedly stack the box to neutralize the New York rushing attack. With the powerful strikes of Joseph as a hard-hitting safety, he could lay the hammer on Forte like he did on Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson in the first preseason game.
Oakland’s secondary overall had a great game, but Joseph’s play was below average in Week 1. Since the Jets offense may be lethargic in this one, Joseph will have to make the most of his opportunities on Sunday. If he can make a big hit on Forte, or any of the New York running backs for that matter, it will really amp up the play of the Raiders defense going forward in this game.