5 reasons Oakland Raiders beat the New York Jets
By John Buhler
Jets have limitations offensively
Simply put, the Jets do not have the personnel to keep pace with the high-flying Raiders offense. Quarterback Josh McCown has shown in his journeyman career that he can air it out with precision. However, he doesn’t have the weapons to stretch the field or the offensive line to keep him upright.
McCown could be in for a very long day. New York has to hope that the Raiders lay an egg in run defense to win this game. The Jets have three decent running backs in Matt Forte, Bilal Powell and rookie Elijah McGuire. However, they can’t expect to win on the road in Oakland with a ground-and-pound attack.
The Jets will have to move the sticks aerially. Oakland did play surprisingly well in the secondary against Tennessee last week. To be fair, the Titans are more of a run-first football team anyway. However, the Raiders won’t be tested all that much through the air by the Jets offense.
Unless McCown can connect with wide receiver Jermaine Kearse repeatedly outside the numbers, it would be shocking to see the Jets throw for well over 300 yards through the air on Oakland. That includes garbage time when the Raiders soften their coverage in the fourth quarter should the lead be that big.