"WTF?" Game of the Year - Raiders Keep Jets Winless in Miraculous Fashion

Final Score: LV 31 NYJ 28 [W] (7-5)

HAIL HENRY (Ruggs)! Just when I was about to witness another chapter in Silver and Black infamy at the idea of losing to the 0-11 Jets. I'd like to think that the Jets remembered that they're tanking for Trevor Lawrence and just handed the game over to the Silver and Black.

This is arguably the worst best game for the Raiders. Even if it resulted in a win, this still felt like a loss. I haven't been this bipolar in a win since 2016 Tampa Bay when the Raiders set an NFL record for penalties in a game, but they still won. That's how this game went down.

Let's talk some positives. Have yourself a game Darren Waller! He carved up the suspect Jets defense with 13 receptions, 200 yards, 2 TDs. He should've had more because they did not have an answer for him. 

Defensively, it was yet another bipolar performance. But, one player that stood out was Clelin Ferrell with 2 strip sacks. I've been critical of Ferrell as a top 5 pick. But he showed out today even if it was against a bad Jets team. They were able to get to Sam Darnold. But in the 2nd half, the run defense got gashed. The Jets running game has been non-existent. But, some guy named Ty Johnson went off with 104 rushing yards and 1 TD on 22 carries. 

Let's discuss that final possession. The Raiders had a failed 4th down conversion. A Carr pass to Renfrow was called back due to offsetting penalties. Next play, they failed to convert. On a 3rd down run play, the refs signaled that the runner stayed inbounds, so that wasted precious time for the Raiders. Carr overshoots Nelson Agholor for a potential game-winning TD. Agholor had a couple of solid catches, but he didn't show up in the clutch. But, it was the rookie Henry Ruggs III with the miraculous 46-yard TD catch! Keep in mind, he made a costly fumble that allowed the Jets to take the go-ahead TD. But, he redeemed himself with the game-winning play.

That play is gonna be talked about for awhile. The Jets dialed a blitz on Carr and left the corner on an island against the speedy Ruggs. They can't lose that #1 pick, especially since Jacksonville lost to Minnesota after this game unfolded. If that is not the sign of a tanking team of throwing the game away, it's gotta be this game. 

By kickoff, I was dumbfounded that Carlson didn't kick it deep and it allowed the Jets to get one more play into the end zone. This game was all kinds of weird, but the Raiders keep their playoff hopes alive. But, at what cost? It becomes more obvious after this game that this team is a fringe playoff team at best. Struggling against a tanking team is not a good sign. But, it is what it is. Raiders keep hope alive and this win was huge with Miami and Indy winning today as well. The Raiders still have yet to play those two, which will have playoff implications at stake. Indy next week is going to be a tough one. Good defensive line and a familiar rival QB comes back to the AFC West. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Jets Bring the Blitzkrieg on the Raiders

Final: OAK 3 NYJ 34 (6-5)

The final score is subject to change since the game is still going on. But for the Raiders, this game is pretty much over. East Coast game, wet weather, windy conditions, we should've expected that this game was going to go awry for the Silver and Black. And it did big time.

I'm not going to dive deep into this game. The Raiders had a nice opening drive, which finished with Daniel Carlson field goal, but that's all they can write. After that, it's been all Jets. Too many big plays were given up in the passing game. As I mentioned last week, Sam Darnold has been playing better and it showed this game. Over 300 yards passing, 2 passing TDs, and 1 rushing TD. The defense wasn't that great today. The offense was awful especially. You know it's bad when Gruden pulls Carr and Jacobs out before the 4th quarter starts.

This has been common for the Raiders for a while now. In the biggest of games where it's a must-win, the spotlight is just too bright for them and they fold. You can chalk this one up to the tally. This also adds to Derek Carr's awful track record in cold, bad weather games. He's 2-8 going to 2-9 in these kinds of games.

Bottom line, the Raiders got punched in the mouth today. They were caught looking ahead to the matchup against KC next week. Though, they're still right in the hunt with Indy losing to the Texans earlier this week. Next week in a rematch against the Chiefs at Kansas City will be a telltale game and is barometer for this season going forward. So far, the odds are not in the Raiders' favor. The weather is going to be cold again and Andy Reid-coached teams tend to win big after coming off a bye week. Regardless, next week is a must-win for the Raiders' season. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Raiders Throttle Jets for 2-0 Start Since 2002

Welcome in Raider Nation to a impromptu recap of the Raiders' week 2 matchup vs. the New York Jets. And just by the score above alone, it feels damn good to be a Raider! The Raiders put the clamps on the Jets. They put up six touchdowns en route to a 20-45 victory at the "O" to go 2-0 since the Super Bowl season in 2002.

I said in my last post that the Raiders should be able to win against the more inferior Jets team by two or three touchdowns. And the Raiders did exactly that today. Keep in mind, I was at work today, but I did as best I could to try and keep track of the game. When I checked the score on my lunch break, Derek Carr just put the Raiders on the board for a two yard pass to Michael Crabtree for an early 0-7 lead. I did not check the game until two hours later. Luckily, I had a couple of Raider fans come into my store, especially one middle-aged guy sporting a Howie Long jersey. I asked him the score and he was generous to take out his phone and check Yahoo Sports or some other Sports app. NYJ 13 OAK 28 was the score late in the third. I was like "NICE!" On my last break, about an hour and a half later, I checked on my Yahoo Sports app to see that the score was NYJ 13 OAK 42 in the middle of 4th quarter. And my reaction was "Holy *bleep*!" In the stats section, I saw that Cordarrelle Patterson and Jalen Richard broke out big runs, Marshawn Lynch scored his first rushing TD as a Raider, and the Carr-to-Crabtree connection had the hat trick with 3 TDs. 

After my work, I sat down and looked at the full highlights. Based on observation, the game was a lot closer in the first half. The Raiders jumped out to a 14 point lead. But, the Jets creeped back into the game. David Amerson got beat on a Jermaine Kearse TD from Josh McCown. Catanzaro nailed a field goal to make it 10-14. The Jets had a muffed punt recovered by Johnny Holton. And without question, I'm sure that was the play that swung momentum completely in the Raiders' favor. After that Jets' fumble, the Raiders outscored the Jets 10-31 throughout the remainder of the game and that's how the final score got here, 20-45. Raiders improve to 2-0 while the Jets drop to 0-2.

*Before I get to the positives, negatives, and MVP, I will try and provide as much insight as I could through the stats courtesy of Yahoo Sports.*

(+)

Rushing attack. Hands down, this was a well-rounded performance from the ground game. Jalen Richard, 6 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD. Cordarrelle Patterson, 3 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD. Marshawn Lynch 12 carries for 45 yards and 1 TD. DeAndre Washington with 20 yards on 6 carries. The big time highlights from this category were Patterson's 43 yard TD and Richard's 52 yard TD. As much as we can talk about Lynch's first TD as a Raider, Patterson and Richard made the Jets' run defense wondering "where'd they go?" On Patterson's run, the Jets were ready for the gadget play. They had two linebackers ready to shoot the gaps, but Osemele and Hudson with good pancake blocks upfront to give Patterson an opening and it's off to the races. Richard's run was a lot tougher. The Jets already closed out on him for a possible loss of yardage, but Richard just used his speed and shiftiness to elude them and he was off to the races. Those were big time run plays that ignited this rout.

Michael Crabtree, 6 receptions, 80 yards, 3 TDs. What has Crabtree proven these last two games? He still has one of the best hands in the league and is a very reliable target for Derek Carr and the Raiders' offense. Again, some bagged on him last season for a lot of drops. But, no broken finger this time and King Crab still makes play after play.

Derek Carr, 23 of 28 passes, 230 yards, 3 TDs. I can't diagnose Carr's play that much, but based on numbers, Carr had another efficient game and of course, the aforementioned TDs to Crabtree. This was another day in the office for Carr.

Gareon Conley, 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed. Here is the man of the hour. We've expected the debut of the Raiders' new first round pick and based on what I'm reading from SF Gate's article, Conley had a good debut for a relatively small sample size. Conley only allowed one pass thrown to him. We figured that since Conley was making his debut, McCown and the Jets' Receivers were going to pick on him. But, on his first defensive play, he was able to swipe a deep pass away from McCown to Kearse. I think Conley got beat initially and recovered quickly. After that, they didn't go to him. Guess he earned the Jets' respect after that play. Not bad for a rookie who missed all of preseason. Conley will get tested more against better receivers as the season progresses, but this game was a good confidence builder.

Karl Joseph, 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble. If there's indication that Karl Joseph is healthy, look no further than the first two weeks of this season. Today, Kujo had a nice strip sack on McCown off a Safety blitz. Nice play from the 2nd-year Safety.

(-)

Penalties. I listened to Chris Townsend on 95.7 the game and the penalties were apparent again in this game. 9 penalties for 79 yards to be exact. Townsend made a point: anytime Jeff Triplett and his crew are officiating a Raiders game, for sure a lot ticky tacky penalties will be called against them. They were officiating this game today and of course, Raiders had more penalty yards than the Jets.

David Amerson. I noticed that he was beat twice by Jermaine Kearse in today's highlights. And Ronarks emphasized on Amerson's game today as well. He's really been inconsistent since Reggie gave him that extension after the 2015 season. He'll have some good games and some bad games. Today was considered bad game as he surrendered two of the Jets' TDs to the same man (Kearse). That's not good on Amerson's part. Hopefully, he has more incentive to play better next week on Sunday Night as he takes on the team who waived him two seasons ago in the Washington Redskins.

MVP

Michael Crabtree, 10 receptions, 80 yards, 3 TDs

I mean I gotta hand it to "Mr. Reliable Hands." King Crab has been nothing short of money for this receiving corps. King Crab = King Clutch.

Conclusion

Overall, this was what we expected from this game. The Raiders were suppose to dominate the Jets. They had all the talent. The Jets don't. And the Raiders have done a great job in exceeding those expectations. From late 2nd quarter to onwards, they put the clamps on the Jets and ran them out of the Coliseum. If you're a sports better, you gotta be happy. The Silver and Black came into this game as 13-14 points favorites. They sure did cover the spread. Next week the Raiders travel to Landover, Maryland next week to face the Redskins on Sunday Night Football. The Redskins are probably the most interesting team in the world. They start off the season slow, but when Kirk Cousins lights it up in a game, that's when Washington flips the switch. The Raiders should be wary of which Redskins team shows up. And on a side note, the Raiders will be reuniting on the field with two specific players on the Redskins. Obviously, one of them is Stacy McGee who signed with the Redskins in the offseason. The 2nd one? He was supposed to be the "chosen one" at quarterback until Reggie McKenzie shipped him to Seattle to make room for Carr in the 2nd round. And if you don't know who I'm talking about, then I'm sensing bandwagon. I'll be back with this type of recap next week. 

Addressing Jets-Raiders Week 2 Coverage

This is the dilemma of having a weekend job. The Raiders matchup vs. the Jets does not kick off until 1:05 PM Sunday afternoon. However, I'll still be on my shift and I don't clock out until 5:00 PM. By that time, the game is over. I could take the easy route and just provide a quick recap like I do during basketball season when the Lakers play. But, there's only 16 games in the NFL season. And unfortunately, I don't have DVR recording. So, here's what I'm going to do, I will still try to provide a thorough recap of the game. That means watch highlights and look at statistics. I'm going to add a 3rd option: finding out what happened in the game through the Raiders YouTube community. I'm gonna list some names here: rollercoasterfweak, Ronarks, Cameron better known as Raider Nation News, RAIDER John, Byron better known as Raiders_1995, and many other names. Let me clear the air here, I don't personally know them, they don't know me. But I've been following these guys for some time and some provide some great insights on how the game went, most of them banter or rant about a win or a loss. Also, some of them are entertaining when providing their recap. Personally if you guys ask me, I've been following 'Coaster's videos the longest. I may be wrong, but I think he's probably the longest tenured out of that bunch because he's been providing recaps for Raider games since the JaMarcus Russell days (shudders). And fun fact, I modeled the full recap format on this blog after 'Coaster's videos since he'd usually point out positives and negatives of the game.

So, if anyone's asking how long this is going to last? Luckily, my job is only going to jeopardize seasonal Raider coverage on this blog for just two weeks. If you ask "why's that?" That I can't disclose unless you guys PM (private message) me about it. But, I won't be out of action that long in providing open thread posts and full recap posts with my own insights on the game. So Jets-Raiders, Raiders-Redskins on Sunday Night, and Raiders-Broncos coverage are technically cancelled, but I'll find ways to find out what happened and provide some insights. This upcoming game against the Jets shouldn't be too difficult. Their front seven is still decent with Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson at the helm, but they are a huge mess on offense. They can't overlook this Jets team. The defense especially can not afford to make Josh McCown look like a Pro Bowl quarterback. This should a win by two or three touchdowns, blowout territory. As always, go Raiders!

Raiders Defeat Jets Behind Derek Carr's 4 TD Performance

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' week 8 matchup vs. the New York Jets where the Raiders gain early leverage in the AFC playoff picture as they beat the Jets 20-34 lead by Derek Carr's career day of tossing 4 TDs.

Well, the finish that we wanted was there. There's still a lot more room to improve in closing out games, but the Raiders finished better this game and they earned a convincing victory against the Jets in what is a matchup that could possibly shake up the playoff picture in the fight for a wild card spot. Despite the injuries the Jets had on offense, this was still a good win because the Raiders' offense absolutely shredded the Jets' top ranked defense and they didn't even need Amari Cooper to have a big game since they know Darrelle Revis was going to keep him in check. So, it is what it is.

(+)

There were a lot of positives this game, I don't even know where to start!

Derek Carr, 23 of 36 passing, 333 yards, 4 TDs. So far, the Raiders are 3-0 this season when Derek Carr throws for three or more touchdown passes. With a Jets defense that loves to blitz and with a stingy secondary, this sets the bar out of all of Carr's performance this season. Like I said, he just continues to level up his game week after week. Under this offense, Carr is just nothing short of amazing. He's commanding the huddle, changing up the plays when he sees an exploitable matchup, and just going through his reads like it's nothing even with pressure coming in his face. This game is a definite bar setter for Carr.

Michael Crabtree, 7 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD. Darrelle Revis got held up with Amari Cooper all game long and that opened up Crabtree to have an excellent game. Crabtree absolutely delivered. That 36 yard run was probably the highlight of the game because by having a good defense, we thought the Jets would be sure tacklers. But one missed tackle by the Jets defense allowed Crabtree to cut loose for that TD. Crabtree has been reliable all game long and he definitely turned it up a notch since his partner-in-crime in Amari Cooper was going to be challenged by Revis.

Latavius Murray, 20 carries, 113 yards. So, the Jets had a top 5 run defense huh? That run defense was non-existent today against the "Tay Train." Though I'll give them credit for stopping Murray in run plays up the middle, but everything else from running to the edge, waiting for the pull from the guards to break a run, Latavius Murray burned that top 5 Jets run defense in every other category besides running up the middle. No problem for the run game to get going at all.

Taiwan Jones, 2 carries, 5 yards, 1 reception, 59 yards, 1 TD. Taiwan Jones has found a role under Bill Musgrave and it's the same role that Percy Harvin had when Musgrave called plays in Minnesota. When Jones is on that field, besides Marcel Reece, he gives this offense a new dimension because of his speed and elusiveness. On a simple screen pass, Jones eluded two Jets defenders and absolutely torched them 59 yards to the house for the Raiders' last TD of the game. I'm very glad he's found a role after the previous pathetic excuse of a coaching staff tried to convert him into a defensive back.

(-)

There were not a lot of negatives this game, but I guess clock management needs a little more work for the Raiders. There's some questionable pass plays in which the Raiders could've just run the ball and kill some clock, but the Raiders wanted to be more aggressive and the Jets did have two timeouts left. It's not too much of a negative, but it's a learning curve for the Raiders' offense to clock out opposing defenses.

Conclusion

Overall, this was a satisfying win and the margin of victory is a type of margin that upholds the Raiders' domination of this game throughout. I'll say this proudly, Derek Carr and the offense are legit. There are too many weapons on that side for everyone to be underutilized and Bill Musgrave has done a masterful job in utilizing them to the best of his ability in his game plans. The defense though has a couple of pieces left till they are legit, but they are holding their own out there thanks to the tutelage of Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton, Jr. This season is a significant sound of progression and why not push for playoff aspirations now? They knocked off the Jets this week to gain leverage and they look to build on that by facing the Steelers next week in Pittsburgh as the Steelers are also pushing for a playoff spot and gain some leverage. But no matter the end result, the Raiders are finally looking like a legit football team. It has been so long that there is some optimism and this team is giving us a reason to believe. I'll see you guys next week for the Steelers game.

Week 8: Early Playoff Implication Game? RAIDERS vs. New York Jets Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

NYJ 20 OAK 34

Another 4th quarter, another 4th quarter of some antsy moments since the Raiders were keeping time on the clock for the Jets to knock on the door and come back with the way the defense was playing soft again. But, thank goodness Geno Smith had some bad clock awareness. He took a sack from D.J. Hayden and a sack from Khalil Mack to keep the clock rolling for the Jets to run out of time. But nonetheless, the Raiders can hang that elusive double digit victory on the wall. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

NYJ 13 OAK 31

I'm lovin' this after this quarter. The Raiders are in no way shape or form, playing conservative. They gave up a TD though, but whatever. But every time, the Raiders offense have answered back by putting together solid drives and they tacked on three more points to extend the lead this quarter. Next, they can't give up 23 unanswered points. Luckily, the offense is driving again to tack on more hopefully.

Q2:

NYJ 6 OAK 21

It was a matchup between the Raiders' red hot offense and the Jets' stingy defense. And I gotta tell ya', the Raiders are doing a good job neutralizing the Jets' biggest strength in blitzing and bringing the heat. The Raiders offense throughout the first half have outplayed the Jets' defense and that's a sign of consistency that us Raiders fans wanted to see after their big outing last week against the Chargers. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

NYJ 3 OAK 7

The first quarter, the Jets controlled most of the time of possession, but the injuries to Jets' center Nick Mangold and Ryan Fitzpatrick are huge pluses in favor of the Raiders. On the first possession, the Raiders tested the stingy Jets defense and they handled that drive with ease. Although they got a huge break because Amari Cooper made a catch on a deflection from Michael Crabtree. But great awareness by Cooper on that play as he was at the right place at the right time to prevent a potential INT. So far, the momentum favors the Raiders with the Jets' injuries on the offensive side of the ball and the drive they fielded together before the end of the quarter.

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.

(+)

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.

(-)

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.

Raiders Fall to Jets in Opener; East Coast Jinx Continues

Alright, welcome in to your NFL regular season opener of the full recap here at the True Raider Laker blog between the Raiders and the New York Jets where the Raiders fell short to snatch an East Coast win over the Jets 14-19.

It's no surprise that we start the season, 0-1, I've been used to that a lot as a Raider fan. It's always frustrating to start out the season with a loss. From what I've seen this game, this should've been a dominant win by the Jets. Wipe out all the penalties that the Jets committed this game, wipe out all the mistakes, and you could see that the Jets thoroughly dominated us in the ground game and in the passing game on the offensive side and their run defense played lights out. There's nothing you can say about it, but mistakes happen which is why the score is closer than it should've been.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 20 of 32, 151 passing yards, 2 passing TDs. This is the big storyline this game, how will Derek Carr fare against a Rex Ryan-oriented Jets defense considering Ryan has an impressive record against rookie QBs? From what I've seen, Derek Carr had a decent game, he did not have an amazing game. He recorded his first touchdown to Rod Streater after a Woodson interception and threw a 30 yard bomb to James Jones when time was literally out for the Raiders. He'll learn from this game and continue to grow. At the beginning of the game, he looked really sharp and then the Jets defense pretty much turned up by blitzing the O-line more and that prevented Carr from having a very impressive rookie debut during the regular season. Like I said, Carr will learn, he's not going to hang his head down this game.

The Negatives

There are a lot of negatives all over the place.

Dropped passes. There were a lot of dropped passes in this game, which is one of the primary reasons Derek Carr didn't put up stellar numbers as a starter. When Carr was making a play on 1st down, 3rd down throws, the receivers weren't there to haul in his passes. I mean some of them were covered well and some of them should've been catchable balls.

Running game. MJD and DMC, 26 rushing yards on a total of 13 carries. Not the start you want to see for a potential deadly 2 back tandem. Credit where it's due, the Jets run defense contained them for the majority of the game and they couldn't get anything going. You know a team's run defense is a bulwark when they completely shut out two of the most dynamic running backs in the game when 100%..

Defense. The defense was a huge letdown this game. The Raiders added a lot of well known players on the defensive line, yet the Jets were able to motion their offense with ease over the defense. The defense gave up a total of 402 yards this game. The Jets running game contributed 212 rushing yards out of those total yards of offense and they did make the Raiders' run defense look silly. Passing game-wise, with the way Geno Smith played early, he still managed to rack up 200+ passing yards over our suspect secondary. I'm going to have a watchful eye on that secondary the whole season. The defensive line doesn't have to worry about a dual threat QB until they face Russell Wilson in Seattle and then later Kaepernick in the season, but the secondary is going to be on watch the whole time, especially on 3rd down, where they have been really vulnerable dating back to last season's final stretch. The front seven gets a pass this game, but if they still can't generate pressure especially against a traditional pocket passer these next few games, it's going to be a long season.

Conclusion

Overall, the experts stand corrected to put the Raiders dead last in their power rankings with this loss. The schedule is a steep mountain to climb, but it's not an impossible mountain climb. The Raiders , they gotta win at some point in the East Coast and they get two more tries at New England and at London in a "home" game against the Dolphins. Derek Carr will get better from here, the supporting cast has to get better with him on the offense. The defense has a pink slip in my book and they have a chance to prove what they're made of against the Texans facing a pure pocket passer. I'll see you guys next week for that game. Until then, enjoy the rest of the opening Sunday of the NFL season. Stay classy guys.

Week 1 East Coast Opener: RAIDERS @ New York Jets Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 14 NYJ 19

The Jets gave a lot of opportunities to the Raiders, but the Raiders couldn't capitalize. Credit where credit is due, the Jets were much more physical, they didn't give us any room to run the ball down their throats and Rex Ryan and the Jets D do what they do best to rookie quarterbacks, give them a rude awakening in the NFL. Overall, Carr did good, he didn't do great, there's a lot to learn from this. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 13

I couldn't recall how many times the Raiders received the opening kickoff in the 2nd half and they couldn't put together a good drive. The Jets defense are starting to bring the heat on Derek Carr, they have completely shut down our running game. Raiders are still down by 6, but the Jets have the momentum all on their side to close this out and that does not bode well.

Q2:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 10

The Jets offense, despite all the penalties, they got it going at the end of that quarter. I thought that's a partial momentum killer right there for the Raiders and also Latavius Murray's almost muffed kickoff return despite the fact the Raiders played mistake free. Would've been good to go into the locker room up 6, but the Raiders are just down by 3 and have the ball after deferring. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 3

Old man Woodson, still making circus plays in his 17th season. That was a big interception to set up Derek Carr's first official TD to Rod Streater. Aside from that, 3rd down is still problem. The secondary is being exposed big time giving up a big passing play one 3rd down after another. Luckily, the Jets are gift wrapping penalties on offense, which is why it's 7-3, but they are still threatening after the end of this quarter.

RAIDERS @ Jets Halftime Post

Score: OAK 7 NYJ 10

Alright welcome in to the first official halftime post of 2014 NFL Season of the Raiders-Jets game where the Jets gain the lead 7-10 in the winding seconds of the 2nd quarter.

The Positives

Derek Carr, 9 of 12 passes, 59 yards, 1 passing TD. Derek Carr is going to have a hard time they said, Rex Ryan will surprise him with a lot of packages they said. For the most part, D.C. was calm and cool in the pocket. Credit to where it's due with the offensive line, they blocked well for the rookie, allowing 0 sacks for the Jets defense. Other than that, D.C. is handling this Jets defense pretty well, almost had one INT thrown to Calvin Pryor, but he did well so far.

Charles Woodson, 4 solo tackles, 1 INT. 37 years of age, C-Wood is still playing like one of the best defensive players in the league. I mean, aside from all the negatives that the defense is putting this game, Woodson so far is the only positive. He's active, embracing that role as the last line of defense and made a crucial INT to give the offense some breathing room to work with.

Rod Streater, 4 receptions, 41 yards, 1 TD. Less time to work with and D.C. is starting to make Streater his #1 go to guy. Streater almost went 1,000 yards in receptions last year despite the quarterback carousel, with that position stable, he's due for a breakout and he's starting that against the Jets today.

The Negatives

Secondary. A lot of open receivers, especially on 3rd down. I said in my preview that the secondary is going to be a concern and boy are the Jets exploiting that pretty good with all these big 3rd down conversions in the passing game.

Defensive line/pressure. 0 pressure on Geno Smith, ZERO. It's starting to feel like last year again where the Raiders had no answer for a pass rush and despite bringing guys like Tuck, Woodley, and Antonio Smith, they haven't done much to rattle Smith or put pressure on him and it's another reason why the defense is giving one big play on defense one 3rd down after another.

Bottom Line

Raiders have the ball. They need to put together a good opening drive in the 2nd half to regain some momentum. For the defense, they need start pressuring and get themselves off the field.