The Jets (4-5) lost to the Raiders (5-5), 16-12, in Las Vegas Sunday night. Here are three takeaways from the Week 10 matchup.
Points Evaporate
The Jets offense continued to struggle punching the ball intothe end zone. It's scored one touchdown since the first quarter of the Week 6 game against the Giants (Breece Hall's 50-yard catch-and-run).
Zach Wilson & Co. thought they had a touchdown on back-to-back plays in the beginning of the second quarter. Wilson was pushed out of the pocket before taking off down the sideline and diving for the pylon. The referees signaled he scored before they reversed the call as Wilson's toes were out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
RB Breece Hall scored on the next play on a run, but TE C.J. Uzomah was flagged for holding. Four plays later, the Jets settled for a field goal.
"It was interesting because I was looking to step out and obviously didn't want to get hurt," Wilson said of his scamper. "But they kind of gave me a lane there, so then I just tried to kind of dive for it and protect myself. I knew I was close on the sideline. It was unfortunate that my foot stepped out. We scored on the next play, but then they called it back for a penalty, so we have to find a way to be better. It's just not good enough."
HC Robert Saleh added: "I thought the offense moved the ball well today. But when you have five drives into their territory and come with 4 field goals, you're not going to win that way. Obviously, you're just a lot of them are just self-inflicted wounds if we could just get that out of our game. We'll be alright, but for right now, obviously it's not good enough."
Early Groove
The Jets found a rhythm early on offense and scored on their first three drives -- three field goals. The last time the Jets scored on their first three drives was December 2021 against the Eagles.
WR Garrett Wilson had 47 yards after the team's first drive after a 41-yard reception that put the Jets in Raiders territory. Wilson finished the first quarter with 60 yards, the most in his career in the opening frame. The only other Jet with at least 60 receiving yards in a first quarter since 2021 is RB Breece Hall, who has down so twice, including in Week 8 against the Giants.
The Green & White totaled 103 yards and 9 points on their scoring drives, but had a subsequent six-drive stretch that resulted in six punts and 54 yards.
"I absolutely did," QB Zach Wilson said when asked if he thought the offense was moving the ball well early. "I felt like in the second half, we didn't get as many first downs to keep some drives alive. But I thought we were moving the ball well. I didn't feel like they were doing much to stop us. I felt like we were stopping ourselves and have to be better."
The Jets outgained the Raiders 365-274.
See the best game action photos during Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Defense Plays at High Level
The Jets defense continues to play at a championship level. The group held Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell, who made his third-career start, to 153 passing yards. It's the third consecutive game the Jets have held the opposing quarterback to fewer than 200 yards. O'Connell completed 59.3% of his passes and threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
WR Davante Adams led the charge through the air for the Raiders with 86 receiving yards, but Josh Jacobs was the main source of offense for Las Vegas. After season highs in attempts and yards last week against the Giants, Jacobs had new season-highs with 27 carries and 116 yards (17-86 in the second half).
His 40-yard run at the end of the third quarter set up the only touchdown of the game – O'Connell to rookie TE Michael Mayer on third-and-goal from the 7-yard line.
