On the Jets opening drive they were given good field position from a nice return from Saalim Hakim. Geno Smith looked strong while hitting David Nelson for 17 yards, and Jeff Cumberland for 2 completions. Chris Johnson was utilized early and often. He was running hard, and even once on a read play with Mike Vick under center. Johnson also broke out for 12 yards on a nice screen pass. The drive led to the Jets settling for a field goal after a drop in the end zone by Greg Salas, and a couple of holding penalties.
The Jets front looked strong forcing a 3 and out on the Raiders opening drive. Especially, when they stuffed Maurice Jones-Drew on a 3rd and short.
On the next offensive series for the Jets, it didn’t start as promising as the last. Eric Decker was flagged on a holding penalty, and the next play Smith threw an interception. Charles Woodson jumped the route to Eric Decker on his 57th career interception and for the 17th consecutive season. This led to a Derek Carr TD pass to Rod Streater for a 7-3 Oakland lead.
Geno Smith to answer drove the Jets down the field, including converting on a 3rd and long with his legs. The Jets offensive line made it hard for him with another holding penalty and an issue that needs to be solved before their next contest. Smith then coughed the ball up near the goalline, by taking a big hit diving forward. Calvin Pryor almost made up for it, but dropped an interception that would have led to a sure TD. However the drop was on 3rd down, and the Jets would get the ball back with 7:15 left in the 2nd quarter.
The play calling for the drive was very conservative, which amounted to a 3 and out. This could have largely been due to 2 straight turnovers committed by Smith. The Jets called a couple of run plays and a screen pass that did not work. The offense would get another crack after the defensive front got good pressure on Carr and stuffed a couple Jones-Drew rushes to force the Raiders to punt for the 3rd time in the game.
Going into halftime, their last drive was much more productive. Smith hit different receivers, and the rushing attack of Ivory and Johnson looked really good. The weapons on this drive really were showcased. They almost scored in the red zone when Smith and Vick lined up out wide, and Vick got the ball on a jet sweep but overshot an open Decker in the end zone. They would score on the next play with a shovel pass to Johnson to take the lead 10-7.
To open the 2nd half, Quinton Coples got in the backfield early on a handoff to Jones-Drew and forced a fumble which oddly was kicked back to Carr unintentionally by Jones-Drew for a huge loss. The Jets did a great job disguising blitz coverages and forcing the Raiders in 2nd and 3rd and long situations. If you can keep the yardage to the first down a long distance, in a loud MetLife stadium, it’s going be hard for a rookie quarterback to stay on the field. The Jets forced the 3 and out, and were on a role. It looked early as if the questions in the secondary were temporarily answered as the Raiders didn’t have any huge big hitters vertically down the field.
Smith could not capitalize on his next offensive series, as he couldn’t move the chains and the Jets were forced to punt. The defense from both teams set the tone for this game early. Yards were not easy to gain, and it was a battle of field position. Dawan Landry picked up the game’s first sack on the Raiders’ following possession, which forced a punt back to the Jets. Smith would drive them down the field, and escape his 2nd fumble lost of the game, by recovering his own fumble on a critical 3rd down. This would lead to Nick Folk’s second FG of the game to make it a 13-7 Jets lead.
All three levels of the Jets defense looked good not missing many tackles. The Raiders could not get into any rhythm with their offense. Carr still could not figure out the Jets 3rd down blitz package, and was forced to throw it away. On the Jets following drive to start the 4th quarter, they played it safe with a run call on a 3rd and 6 which they didn’t convert on. However they regained control of the field position game, as they pinned the Raiders inside the 5 yard line. Carr, yet again could not move the chains and the Raiders punted the ball back.
Geno Smith took a critical sack on a 3rd down which kept the Jets out of field goal range and the Jets punted the ball into the end zone for a net of only 19 yards. This break was one of the few the Raiders got all game, and gave them a glimmer of hope. But a key one on one tackle by Antonio Allen on 3rd down forced the Raiders 5th straight punt of the 2nd half. They had not scored since the 2nd possession of the game. This would lead to a 71 yard TD run by Chris Ivory on the very next play. The Jets would be stopped on the two point conversion but would be up 19-7. Yet again the Raiders could not answer the Jets and had to punt the football. All game long it felt like the Raiders were never really in the game. This speaks large volumes to the Jets defense, which looked strong right out of the gate.
Darrin Walls had the only real blemish in the secondary as he was burnt by James Jones on a nice one handed catch on the Raiders final possession for a TD. The score pulled them within 5, but with no timeouts and not recovering the onside kick, the Jets would kneel down to win the game.
Smith finished the game 23/28 for 221 YDS, with a TD and an interception. For the rushing attack, Ivory had 10 carries for 102 yards and a TD. Johnson had 13 carries for 68 yards and for receiving, Decker led the team with 5 receptions for 74 yards. The Jets will need another huge performance from their defense when they go into Green Bay to play the Packers Sunday the 14th. They hope to have Dee Milliner back to go against the talented receiving core for Aaron Rodgers. The Packers are looking to get their offense back on track which struggled in a loss to the Seahawks in Week 1.