RAIDERS-Jets Halftime Post

NYJ 6 OAK 21

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' matchup vs. the New York Jets where the Raiders picked up where they left off last week in San Diego, leading the Jets 6-21.

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Derek Carr, 14 of 18 passes, 178 passing yards, 3 TDs. Last week against the Chargers, Derek Carr finished the game with 200+ passing yards and 3 TDs; this week he has 3 TDs at the half. All I can say is, we have our franchise quarterback and he continues to get better every week. Last season, the Jets gave Carr all kinds of fits under Rex Ryan and this season with another defensive coach in Todd Bowles and the same personnel plus a better secondary, Carr is handling them the 2nd time around. Carr continues to show us new things week after week.

Michael Crabtree, 5 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD. All the attention is on Amari Cooper, so they sent Darrelle Revis to try and neutralize Carr's favorite target. Have the Jets forgotten that the Raiders have Michael Crabtree on the opposite side of the field? We figured with that scenario, Crabtree was going to have a monster game and that prediction is living up to standards as Crabtree just can't go down and managed to slip in for a 36 yard TD and he's been reliable on third down situations.

Andre Holmes, 2 receptions, 54 yards, 2 TDs. Wow, Andre Holmes was literally the forgotten man the past few weeks, but he's stepping up big time. Basically, Holmes is the only familiar target Carr has from last season and he has resurrected from the grave. Credit to Musgrave though. He used rookie tight end Clive Walford as the X-factor for the Raiders' offense and now this week, it's Andre Holmes who has that mark and he has answered the challenge since Cooper and Crabtree got their hands full against Revis and Cromartie.

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No negatives.

Bottom Line

All I can say is, please close out the game the right way. The Raiders have another big lead coming out of the first half and last week, they got too conservative, allowing the Chargers to creep back into the game. The Raiders have to do this right and put the pedal to the metal because that Jets defense is light years better than the Chargers defense last week and they have a knack to keep the team's hopes alive. Let's see what happens.