Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets: 4 things we learned in Week 13
A win is a win for the Raiders, even if it kind of feels like a loss
The prevailing feeling after Derek Carr threw that game-winning bomb to Henry Ruggs was jubilation, then relief, then disappointment that it took such a dramatic play to beat an 0-11 New York Jets team.
Raider Nation wanted to see the Silver and Black bounce back in a big way after their embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Falcons and would have settled for a comfortable two-score victory.
The Raiders don’t blow teams out very often and those who have watched them closely this year knew that a blowout was not likely even against this Jets team, but a mundane win would have sufficed. Instead, we got one of the most dramatic games of the NFL season and one of the more unlikely wins in recent Raider history.
It was not unlikely because of the opponent, but unlikely because of the situation and how it unfolded.
They say that all wins count the same, but Raider Nation seems to be almost unanimous in feeling a little dirty about beating the lowly Jets in such a fashion. The reality is that all wins do count the same and as we have said all week, even though the Jets are struggling they are still a professional football team that needs to be taken seriously.
The Jets have been blown out several times this year but have also lost six games by 10 points or less and now have three losses by one score, including a dramatic 30-27 loss to the resurgent New England Patriots.
The lesson here is that while it may have been disappointing to “only” beat the Jets thanks to a miracle play, all wins do indeed count the same in the standings and this is a game the Raiders can point to as one where they overcame the adversity of missing several key players on both sides of the ball.