After coming into Week 12 with some momentum, the Oakland Raiders laid an absolute goose egg as they lost to the New York Jets, 34-3, to fall to 6-5 on the year.
West coast teams have historically had issues traveling east to play and this was a textbook case as the Raiders were not sharp on either side of the field. Derek Carr had his worst outing of the 2019 NFL season as he finished with 127 yards on 27 passing attempts and an interception, earning him a spot on the bench in the third quarter when the game was out of reach.
The running game did not fare any better with the backfield managing only 68 yards on 22 rushing attempts, getting routinely beat at the line of scrimmage. The Jets have largely struggled on defense for most of the 2019 NFL season but had their way with a Raider team that looked outmatched from the get-go.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden did not mince words about his team’s performance after the game, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports:
“We dropped passes. Hell, we dropped four center-quarterback exchanges in the second half. We missed tackles. We missed field goals,” Gruden said. “We missed the opportunity to show fans who came out today what kind of football team we are. I’m really disappointed in it.
“Credit the Jets. They’re part of the story today. It’s not all on how bad we played, though we sure didn’t play very well.”
It truly was the team’s worst performance of the year as there was no rhythm offensively while defensively New York was seemingly able to get anything they wanted either on the ground or through the air. Sam Darnold carved up the Raiders to the tune of 315 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding a rushing touchdown for good measure.
Carr has proven that when given the proper protection he can make the proper reads and throws to keep the chains moving, but he did not get many opportunities to do so with the Jets doing a good job of applying some pressure. His receivers also did him no favors as Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow were the primary culprits of a couple of dropped passes that would have kept the ball in Oakland’s possession.
This loss is particularly disappointing because the Raiders’ schedule is one of the easier ones down the stretch of the season and a win against the Jets would have gone a long way in ensuring that they grab one of the two Wild Card spots in the AFC, or perhaps even the AFC West division title. With so many teams still in the hunt, the Silver and Black may need some help if they hope to make it to the postseason.
Regardless of the loss, Gruden and the Raiders will need to quickly regroup and refocus ahead of their Week 13 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. A win against their divisional rival would more than help get rid of the sour taste of their most recent loss.
