Grant’s Slants: Beaten Not Broken

Well, this was unexpected. Some fans came into this game very confident that the Raiders would leave East Rutherford with a win over the New York Jets. While others labelled it a trap game, especially with incredibly inclement weather, even for a team not from sunny California. But no one saw a 31-point loss on the horizon. As soon as the Jets caught some traction, they were able to run away and hide. And that is exactly what the Jets did. The Jets ran out to a 31-point lead with six minutes left in the third period. At that point, both teams seemed perfectly content to just drain the clock out, leaving the Jets with a 31-3 victory.

The New York Jets Defensive Line

The Oakland Raiders have been a team that wears their opponents down with long, gashing runs and finish things off through the air. Today, the Jets completely shut down Josh Jacobs and the rest of the Raiders running backs. Jacobs could not get anything going and would record just 10 carries due to the lack of success.

The season is not over.

Yes, this was an emotionally draining loss. The loss also makes next week’s game in Kansas City twice as important. But the Raiders still stand at 6-5, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers (but losing the tie due to tiebreakers) for the second Wild Card spot. However, the Raiders have a significantly easier schedule than all teams at or within one game back of the Wild Card. Lastly, the Chiefs face the Patriots the week after the Raiders come to town. This would be a great time for the Raiders to break off a nice two game winning streak (at least) following this rough loss.

Drops

Yes, the Raiders’ defense was atrocious, but that was something we have been used to. Normally, that is something the Raiders play and win with, but the drops ruined any chance of victory. The Raiders dropped three third down passes today, despite coming into the game with five third down drops on the season. The weather did play a major factor, cold and wet, but the Jets did not seem to notice. Not only do drops kill a drive, they kill a quarterback’s confidence. However, the most blatant miscue of the game was penalizing Mo Hurst for roughing the passer. I would like a formal, in-person apology or explanation of what they seek, especially when the quarterback rolls out of the pocket and should be listed as a rusher.

Derek Carr is not to blame for this loss.

While Carr did have 15 passes for 127 yards, the stats do not tell the whole story. The Jets did an incredible job slowing down Carr’s constantly rising average depth of target (ADOT). There simply was not anyone readily available for Carr to throw to past the first down marker and the Jets’ defensive line was getting pressure with just four rushers. Carr’s interception came off a deflection that appeared catchable.

Missed tackles are the defensive equivalent of dropped passes.

Missed tackles were prevalent in this game. There have been a few cold and rainy games this season, but no one performed as poorly as the Raiders did today. Almost every momentum-changing tackle that the Raiders could have made were missed. This cannot happen next week. One day, the Raiders will have a consistent defense and defensive coordinator. Until that day, Just Win Baby.