The Oakland Raiders will host the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon in the Coliseum. Here are five reasons it will be all Silver and Black in this game.
The Oakland Raiders are looking to move to 2-0 on the season. They are coming off a big win on the road against the Tennessee Titans last week. Oakland still has to execute, but will face a lesser opponent on Sunday in the form of the New York Jets.
New York is certainly rebuilding and probably tanking like an NBA team this season. The Jets organization has made it a point to make its own roster worse so that it can better position itself to draft a top-tier franchise quarterback in the upcoming draft.
Nevertheless, this is an old AFL/AFC rival of the Raiders. They would love nothing more than to beat the tar out of the Jets at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. By getting that second win of the season, that would be the first time the Raiders have gone 2-0 to start the year since making it to the Super Bowl in 2002.
New York will try its best to hang tough with the Raiders, but here are five reasons Sunday in Oakland will be all about the Silver and Black. Oakland definitely has a pathway to an easy victory, as long as the Raiders play their brand of football.
Oakland’s offensive interior can hang with New York’s defensive line
The best part of the Jets roster is its players along the defensive line. Even if they traded away the disgruntled Sheldon Richardson to the Seattle Seahawks, New York still has a pair of playmakers in the trenches in Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson.
Wilkerson is the player New York in essence picked over Richardson going forward. Playing all three defensive lineman at the same time was not feasible. Williams may be the more talented player over Wilkerson, but they do a great job playing off each other up front.
While going up against two high-end disruptors on the defensive line in Williams and Wilkerson would be problematic for most teams, the Raiders have the offensive line to handle both excellent players.
Oakland’s greatest strength is its offensive line, particularly on the left side. Left tackle Donald Penn and center Rodney Hudson a Pro Bowl players, while left guard Kelechi Osemele is an All-Pro. The Raiders are still vulnerable on the right side with Gabe Jackson, Marshall Newhouse and Vadal Alexander, but Oakland has the players to combat Williams and Wilkerson in the trenches on Sunday.