New York Jets at Oakland Raiders: Quick observations and thoughts

Here are initial thoughts on the New York Jets loss to the Oakland Raiders.

It pretty much was the expected result between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders. There were just too many weapons for the Jets to deal with and the Raiders pulled away in the second half, on their way to a 42-20 victory. New York kept it close in the first half but the offense couldn’t get enough going. The defense ran out of gas and off the Raiders went.

Here are some initial observations and thoughts:

• Darron Lee is very bad at football. It’s his second year and his play in pass defense might actually be worse than it was in 2016. He doesn’t understand coverages and can’t stay with anyone. The fact that he was a first round pick makes his lack of development even worse.
• Matt Forte was sharper than last week, running the ball nine times for 53 yards. He also added 38 yards on four receptions. Forte finally looked like the guy that had a history in the league, not an over the hill player.
• Todd Bowles challenged the defensive line to step up this week. The Jets gave up 6.7 yards per rush and didn’t sack Derek Carr even once. I guess they didn’t take the challenge. Or they are just overrated. It could be either one.

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• Jermaine Kearse is proving to be a solid acquisition. He caught two touchdown passes and set the standard for the rest of the receivers.
• Josh McCown doesn’t take a lot of chances down the field with his arm, but he does with his legs. He has no fear, evidenced especially on the scramble that gave the Jets a first down on third and 18. He’s not a great quarterback but he is gutsy.
• This coaching staff again refused to do itself any favors. They were facing a third and one or two and instead of a simple run for the first down, they decided to do a throw into the flat. If your offensive line can’t pick up two yards for the running back they don’t belong on an NFL field. Stop getting cute, just make the correct calls.
• Elijah McGuire got into the game and had some nice burst, running it six times for 29 yards, nearly a five yard per carry clip. Hopefully John Morton will get him involved more often.

Next: Bowles must prove his worth

Like I mentioned earlier, this was not unexpected. Anybody that has watched football expected this one to be one-sided. The Raiders simply have too much talent, and there was no way for the Jets to keep up. It doesn’t make it any easier to watch, though. Hopefully they will play better at home next week against Miami.