The New York Jets and Oakland Raiders rivalry goes back to 1968 where both of these teams played in two historic games, one being the Heidi game and the other was the AFL championship game where the Jets would end up winning their first ever super bowl. They will be set to square off again at MetLife stadium where the Raiders have lost five straight road games, in fact the last time the Raiders beat the Jets on the road was October 6th, 1996. Both of these teams are similar in terms of having a young team, but the Raiders seem to be steeping towards the right direction with this roster. The Jets on the other hand have been battling through a lot of injuries, thus having gone through some embarrassing games. However, they have seemed to be figuring things out after coming away with back to back wins where the offense scored over 30 points. Now they will be facing a team with a winning record, so it's time to see what this team can do against a tough opponent.
The Raiders will be traveling all the way to the east coast today, which might help the Jets in this game. The time difference is three hours behind East Rutherford New Jersey, therefore when the game starts it will be 11 o'clock over in Oakland. Now these players have done this kind of thing before but there might be some Jet lag because it is tough to adjust the time zone in a matter of a day. Therefore, the Jets have to capitalize on situation.
The Jets offense has finally shown progress the last two weeks by not only putting up more than 20 points, but also having sustaining drives that end up with points. The Raiders defense has improved this year compared to last as they built a defensive line that can get to the quarterback after trading away their best one last year. Last season they have recorded a total of 13 sacks and this season they have already doubled that with 25. However they are still struggling in the passing game, so if the Jets offensive line can protect Darnold long enough the offense has potential to have another good performance.
Like the Raiders defense the Jets have been very good in the run, in fact they are ranked 1st in the NFL. They hold opposing running backs to 2.98 yards per carry, while rookie Josh Jacobs has averaged 4 yards per carry. What they haven't done well is in the passing game as well as getting off the field on third down, where the Raiders offense has been sensational as they rank 3rd in the NFL. Jamal Adams and company have to get to the quarterback just like they did against the Giants and Redskins.