What a win for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Klint Kubiak's team certainly didn't make it easy in Week 8 against the New York Jets, but they came out on top because both sides of the ball came through when they needed to. The Silver and Black are back to .500 at the midway point in the campaign, which is remarkable in and of itself.
Obviously, the defense still has some massive steps to take if this Raiders team wants to ultimately do anything this year. And the offense can't be so slow to start if it wants to help the defense and play complementary football. But again, Las Vegas did just enough to emerge victorious in this one.
This is a gritty and unrelenting Silver and Black team, even if Sunday's win wasn't pretty. And while there will be plenty of analysis and assessments to be made in the coming days, let's kick off our coverage with some immediate thoughts from the triumphant comeback win at MetLife Stadium.
X immediate thoughts from the Raiders' big comeback win over Jets
1. The Raiders made a big change at running back in Week 8, and it paid off in a lot of ways. Ashton Jeanty was no longer the featured back; Mike Washington Jr. was. And Las Vegas totaled 95 yards on the ground, their most since Week 3 and third-most of the season. Washington Jr. chipped in 83 yards on 25 carries, and Jeanty had just 9 yards on two rushes but added 64 yards through the air.
2. Dylan Laube was a difference-maker in this one. Not only did he return a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but he made a huge tackle on kick coverage later in the game. He told me this summer that he had the Jets circled on his schedule, which made sense as a Long Island, New York, native. Laube continued to add to his Pro Bowl résumé to help the Silver and Black win in front of his family.
3. Klint Kubiak called a heck of a game. It took guts to make a major change at running back, and the offense just got better and better as the game went along. The tight ends were rightfully leaned on heavily, as Kubiak kept getting Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer looks, despite them garnering all of the attention. Jalen Nailor came alive, too. Hard to be upset with 31 offensive points.
4. Rob Leonard might still need to go after that one. The Jets were averaging 19.6 points per game, and they hung 33 on Leonard's defense. Yes, the group came through in a lot of ways when they were needed, but in so many other games, it would have been too little, too late. You can't rely on Herculean offensive efforts. The defense was unprepared, didn't execute and isn't improving in the slightest.
5. Eric Stokes really struggled on Sunday, especially in the first half, even though he had a pair of PBUs. Leonard needed to make an adjustment or just pull him, but with Darien Porter hurt, the Raiders couldn't justify putting Zeke Masses and Jermod McCoy out there together. Speaking of which, the latter came in before the former on Sunday, which was interesting. Lots of improvement is needed.
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