Photo Finish
It seemed like the Jets had found their first win of the season, but Raiders QB Derek Carr connected with rookie WR Henry Ruggs for a 46-yard score with 5 seconds remaining that gave Las Vegas a 31-28 win. The Jets fell to 0-12.
"We were trying to create pressure, [Carr] hadn't done well with it all game," Head Coach Adam Gase said. "That's what happens. We had a couple free runners, but we didn't get there."
He added: "There's not much you can say [to the team]. We have to go back to work. These guys battled the whole game and we just have to finish it."
For the second straight week, the Jets bottled up the run game in the first half but struggled against the pass. Without RB Josh Jacobs in the lineup, the Raiders totaled 14 rushing yards on 8 carries in the first half, averaging 1.8 yards per carry. They finished with 72 yards on 25 carries (2.9 avg). The Jets, however, did not have an answer for TE Darren Waller, who had 13 catches for 200 yards and 2 TDs.
"He's a really good player," Gase said. "It's hard for us to match up with him. We were trying to find ways to get multiple guys on him through some of the zones, but they were finding him. That's Carr's guy to begin with. It's really tough to take him completely away, we gave him way too much, though."
On fourth-and-8 on their second-to-last drive, the Raiders were given life when S Marcus Maye was called for holding on Waller. Four plays later, Carr hit Nelson Agholor for a touchdown on fourth-and-3, but offsetting penalties gave the Jets another try. This time, they held.
"When things like that happen, it's natural for the team to get excited," OLB Jordan Jenkins said of the defensive stand. "Energy was up, everyone was happy and that's just how it was."
He added: "Everyone's mad after a game like that. We came together, broke it down as always and said our prayer. Everyone was hurting."
The Jets also forced two takeaways for the second straight week. Arthur Maulet picked off Derek Carr in the first half and undrafted rookie CB Javelin Guidry knocked the ball out of Ruggs' hands, which Maye recovered on Las Vegas' 44-yard line. The Jets took the lead on the ensuing drive.
RB Shuffle Leads to Productivity
The Jets ran for a season-high 206 against the Raiders, their most since 2018. Ty Johnson and Josh Adams took over for Frank Gore, who left the game with a concussion after his first carry. Johnson led the team with 22 carries and gave the Jets a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter, capping off a 6-play, 44-yard drive with 5:34 remaining. Johnson became the first Jet since Isaiah Crowell in '18 to eclipse the century mark. He finished with 104 yards while Adams had 74 on 8 carries (9.3 avg).
"I think just being aggressive offensively, attacking them," Adams said of what worked for the RBs. "Then from the running backs, following the offensive line and trusting their blocks and pushing the pile forward. I think Ty did a great job, played with a lot of confidence. Went out there and really seized the opportunity. I'm proud of all the guys, especially on the offense on how far we've come and hopefully we can just build off this."
Offense Finds End Zone, but WRs Are Quiet
Darnold moved the ball well, but turned it over three times (1 INT, 2 fumbles), all in the first half. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 186 yards and had 2 TDs, his first passing score in five games.
"He did some good stuff," Gase said. "I'm sure when we go back and watch it, we'll clean a few things up. Put ourselves in better positions. ... It was unfortunate we had the two sack-fumbles. The pick we can definitely clean up, but there was a lot of good stuff. Good drives to put us in the end zone there late in the game when we were down. We just have to finish the game."
In the second half, Darnold played turnover-free football and capped a 9-play, 96-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run. After a pass interference call gave the Jets another try at the 2-point conversion, he connected with WR Denzel Mims to cut the Raiders' lead 24-21 with 10:22 remaining in the game.
"We played really good football there at the end," Darnold said. "Just complementary football. Special teams, defense, offense all playing together. It was great to see and we're just going to continue to look for that and use that as momentum going forward."
He added: "We have no choice. We have to move on and learn from it and continue to get better. I really feel like this group is getting better as the season goes on. We have to continue to do that."
