The Oakland Raiders look poised to build on their three-game win streak heading into their Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets, but they were stunningly embarrassed in a 34-3 blow out to fall to 6-5 on the year.
It was a terrible afternoon for Jon Gruden‘s roster as they were thoroughly outplayed in every phase of the game. The Jets were able to march down the field with ease on several of their drives while their defense did a spectacular job pressuring Derek Carr and forcing him into some throws that were difficult for his receivers to reel in.
What was arguably even more surprising was that the Raiders did not find any success running the ball as they have been one of the better rushing teams in the NFL. Rookie rooking back Josh Jacobs has been one of the bright spots for Oakland’s freshman class, but he found little room against a New York defensive front that seemed up to the task of stopping the run.
After the game, Jacobs admitted he was not surprised his team lost and believes they can actually benefit from the poor performance, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Josh Jacobs said the outcome was not a shock: "Not to me. But I think the game will benefit us more than anything. We kind of needed it. We'll see how things play out." #Raiders
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) November 24, 2019
Jacob’s candidness about the result of the game is probably an indicator that the Raiders may have been a bit too overconfident. This matchup had all the makings of a trap game as they had to fly out east for an early start time, which is tough for some teams to adjust to. Additionally, they have a big matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend, so they could have already been looking ahead to that.
Oakland is a young roster who had been riding high after a few victories under their belt, so a loss against a struggling team is not too surprising when you consider the circumstances.
The other half of Jacobs’ comments are also interesting in that the rookie seems to understand that these types of losses can ultimately be a good thing down the stretch, serving as good reminders that any team can win on any given week. Even with the loss, the Raiders can fall back on the fact that the rest of their schedule is still favorable and they have plenty of opportunities to ensure they get back on the right track.
Week 13 presents a tough challenge as they will head to Kansas City to take on the AFC West-leading Chiefs, who still boast one of the most dangerous offenses in the league behind Patrick Mahomes. Jacobs and the rest of the offense have their work cut out for them as they hope to keep pace with a Kansas City team who can put up points in a hurry.
