New York Jets week two: Earning their wings against the Raiders

Which New York Jets earned their wings for their performances in week two against the Raiders?

The New York Jets had their weaknesses exposed in their loss to the Oakland Raiders this afternoon. The offensive weapons on the side of the black and silver were just too much for the Jets to handle. The defense wore itself out and the Raiders won going away. It was expected. The Raiders were heavy favorites. That doesn’t mean it was easy to watch. It wasn’t. But, for the tank fans, it’s one more loss closer to the first pick of the 2018 draft.

That being said, we can still give out “wings” from this week’s performance. As we established last week, wings refers to giving out game balls. Each week we are selecting three Jets that put in performances that stood out, for the good, and deserving of game balls. Even in the loss, there are three. Here they are:

JERMAINE KEARSE: He may have been acquired just before the season began, but Jermaine Kearse is more than proving his worth. After leading the team in week one, he caught four passes for a team high 64 yards and two touchdowns. Kearse has never been a true number one receiver, but he has performed like one so far after coming over from Seattle.

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ELIJAH MCGUIRE: Welcome to the NFL, Elijah McGuire! The rookie out of Louisiana-Lafayette got some action after the running game was more than sluggish in week one. As a team the Jets averaged five yards per carry. McGuire carried it six times for 29 yards, just under five per carry. He showed some burst, leading one to believe we might just see more of him as the weeks go by.

MARCUS MAYE: The young rookie was all over the field laying out big hits. Giving out a third game ball was difficult in this one, but Maye gets it for leading the team in tackles. He posted 6.5 on the afternoon, playing with a great deal of confidence.

Next: Jets at Raiders observations

Next week, the Jets return home to open their MetLife schedule against the Miami Dolphins. Jay Cutler is not nearly the quarterback that Derek Carr is and the Dolphins are nowhere near as good. Maybe this one will at least be competitive. At 0-2, the fans need something relatively encouraging to latch on to.

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