TURNIN’ ON THE JETS!
Gang fires on all cylinders, crushes Raiders for third straight win
When Adam Gase finally takes off his baseball cap and falls asleep Sunday night (assuming he doesn’t sleep with it on), he should revel in his best game yet as the leader of the Jets universe. The embattled coach has absorbed enough body blows during this turbulent season to last a lifetime, but he pushed all the right buttons in a 34-3 laugher over the Raiders.
Give credit where it’s absolutely due: Gase dialed up one smart, creative play after another to help the Jets win their third in a row for the first time since Weeks 3-5 in 2017. Gregg Williams’ defense also erased Derek Carr, who was benched in the third quarter when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
The same Jets that sleepwalked through the first two months have scored 34 points for a third consecutive week, prompting some to wonder if a playoff run is not dead yet.
“You think about a lot of things during the day,” Sam Darnold said with a smile. “So, I mean, that’s definitely in the back of my head.… The vibe is a lot better for sure. We just got to keep putting in the work during the week. If we do that, this vibe’s going to continue.”
The Jets (4-7) made a respectable team look like a dumpster fire thanks to good coaching and execution in all three phases, a welcomed change for an outfit that looked lost not that long ago. The Jets are in line to extend to their winning ways with a tomato can on the horizon (Bengals), but this victory deserves its
proper attention. And Gase deserves praise for the way he called this one.
“When you’re not threeand-out,” Gase said, “When you get first down, second down, first, third-and-short, it makes it a lot easier.”
Gase was in a play-calling groove, helped by a young quarterback, who is growing with each passing week. Darnold went 20-for-29 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and a season-high 127.8 passer rating.
“We got a lot of playmakers everywhere,” Le’Veon Bell said. “This is exactly how I envisioned it.”
These aren’t your father’s Raiders, but Jon Gruden’s team was a step-up in class from the Jets’ previous two opponents (Giants and Washington). Oakland (6-5) was supposed to be a circus entering the season, but exceeded expectations with a rookie-laden bunch.
Gase’s team turned them back into pumpkins.
Darnold carved up a terrible pass defense, Bell reminded us why he’s still a dual-threat problem and Gang Green’s defense made sure that Carr dropped to 2-9 lifetime when the game-time temperature is under 50 degrees.
This was a much-needed laugher for a coach who hasn’t had much to laugh about this season.
Gase became Public Enemy No.
1 with a disgruntled fan base that expected much more entering the season. The Jets were a noncompetitive, disjointed team for months before finding life during this soft part of the schedule.
Gase shouldn’t apologize for a five-week stretch against four cupcakes (Giants, Washington, Bengals and Dolphins) and one decent team (Raiders). The Jets need to take advantage of weaker opponents if Gase has any chance of pulling off a postseason miracle.
Nobody is going to complain about trouncing Oakland.
Darnold continued to flash the skills that should make every green-and-white diehard giddy about what might lie ahead for the next decade. The second-year quarterback engineered a scoring drive on his first drive for the fifth consecutive week.
“Everybody is doing their part,” Demaryius Thomas said about the offense. “Ain’t nobody trying to be Superman or nothing.”
Darnold, who had his third turnover-free game of the season, made terrific plays in and out of the pocket. Some of his best decisions were incompletions. The young signal caller threw the ball away rather than force the issue, a clear sign that he’s learning from past mistakes.
Darnold, who had three touchdowns (two passing and one rushing), has 10 total touchdowns and just two interceptions in his past four games.
Meanwhile, Williams’ defense spotted Oakland a field goal on the opening drive before stymieing Carr, who went 15-for-27 for 127 yards and an interception. Jamal Adams revealed that players were ticked off after being greeted by a parade of boos during pregame warmups from a loud Raiders contingent.
“I’m not going to lie to you. When we came on to the field (after warmups), we felt disrespected,” said Jamal Adams, continued his torrid stretch with seven tackles, three more quarterback hits and a half sack. “We got booed in our own home stadium by Oakland fans. We came back into this locker room before we went out. It was a hell of a talk. It was something that needed to be said. We felt disrespected, went out there and put up or shut up.”
“I don’t want to sound very arrogant and just cocky, but I think they (Raiders fans) came in a little too happy,” Adams added. “Put it like that. They thought it was just going to be an easy game.”
It turned out to be easy for the home team.
Gase’s club held a 13-3 halftime lead before pouring it on. Braxton Berrios’ 69-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive of the second half set up Ryan Griffin’s touchdown on a terrific play design by Gase, who had Darnold roll right before throwing back to his wideopen tight end for the easy walk-in score.
“It was awesome,” Darnold said. “Great play design.”
After the Jets stuffed Oakland on fourth and 1, Gase &
Co. made them pay again. Gase dialed up a flea flicker on the ensuing drive that netted 31 yards to Robby Anderson. Darnold then found Anderson for a 1-yard touchdown to officially cue the laugh track.
“I think we can definitely feel when he’s in a rhythm,” Darnold said of Gase. “But I think it’s fair to say that it’s up to us to make sure that we keep him in that rhythm and we stay in rhythm with ourselves, too, because it’s up to us to continue to get first downs and keep the chains moving. When we do that, everyone’s rolling.”
Brian Poole’s pick-six on Carr’s pass intended for Tyrell Williams 14 seconds later put the punctuation mark on this impressive performance.
Gase has been rightfully criticized for myriad reasons this season, but he should be lauded for everything Sunday.
Win No. 5 is coming in Cincinnati in seven days.