Times Standard (Eureka)

Raiders may be facing Jets at bad time

- By Jon Becker

If there was ever a bad time to be facing the New York Jets, the Raiders just may be experienci­ng it this week. At second glance, the once-laughable Jets may no longer deserve the scorn they’ve been drawing most of the season.

If you’re like most NFL fans, you haven’t bothered to notice the Jets are now riding a two-game winning streak. And, judging by how difficult it was for Oakland to dispose of the winless Bengals on Sunday, beating the Jets might not be an easy task.

For the first time in more than a year, the Jets offense accounted for more than 400 yards in a game while New York routed Washington 34-17 on Sunday. Is it a case of fortunes changing or just fortunate opponents? The Jets’ recent wins have come against the Giants and Washington, neither team that could be mistaken for a contender.

Still, those who embrace historical coincidenc­es might get a kick out of the similariti­es surroundin­g the Oakland Raiders’ first NFL road game against the Jets, and this, their final one in New York this Sunday.

Nearly 49 years to the week, the playoff-hopeful Raiders first went to New York to play a Jets team with no shot at the playoffs. Just like today, the Jets back in 1970 were 3-7 after surprising­ly winning two straight games before the Raiders came to town. Back then, like today, the Raiders had six wins and they desperatel­y needed to avoid a Jets upset in order to remain tied for first place in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs.

OK, today’s Raiders don’t have a 43-year-old miracle worker like George Blanda around to pull out last-second victories, but you get the point.

As for history repeating, Raiders fans should be so fortunate to witness an ending such as the one that provided an Oakland road win in 1970. Cue the tape of the Raiders scoring a game-winning touchdown off a tipped pass with eight seconds left.

Here’s a closer look at some factors that may determine which team prevails this week:

GAME ESSENTIALS >> Raiders (6-4) vs. Jets (3-7) in New York, Sunday at 10 a.m. (PT) on CBS-TV. ODDS: Raiders -3.5.

Reasons for optimism

THE GROUNDED JETS’ RUNNING ATTACK >> The Jets hoped for much more from Le’Veon Bell when they signed him to a four-year, $52 million free-agent deal before the season. Instead, they’ve got the league’s 21st-leading rusher and a guy who has averaged more than 3 1/2 yards per carry in just one game this season. Of course, it’s not all Bell’s fault. His offensive line has struggled all year trying to open up holes. His 18-carry, 59-yard game against Washington Sunday was actually one of better games statistica­lly for the Jets.

BIG TROUBLES UP FRONT >> Speaking of the Jets offensive line, it will need to be much better than it’s been to slow down a suddenly emerging Raiders defensive front with rookies Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell. But do the Jets’ linemen have it in them? The numbers certainly don’t suggest it. The Jets have the 31st-rated line in terms of rushing (See Le’Veon Bell’s struggles). Things don’t get much better when Sam Darnold drops back to pass, either. New York’s line has allowed the second-most sacks (42) in the league and it has allowed a sack on 11.6 percent of the Jets’ passing plays, also second-worst in the league.

MISTAKES WAITING TO HAPPEN >> The theme for most of the Jets’ season have been their self-induced troubles, from the rashes of turnovers to the glut of penalties, it’s not surprising New York has struggled. The Jets have gotten a bit better about the turnovers lately, but still have the fifth-most in the NFL with 19 giveaways (13 intercepti­ons, six fumbles). The Jets are also the third-most penalized team in total yards. Those factors help explain why the Jets average just 16.4 points per game, worse than just three other NFL teams.

Reasons for pessimism

NFL’S TOUGHEST FRONT? >> Don’t let the Jets record fool you, these guys are no pushover, particular­ly New York’s defensive front seven, led by emerging star run stuffer Folorunso Fatukasi. Since Week 6, the former sixth-round pick from Connecticu­t has graded out better than every NFL lineman except two — the Rams’ Aaron Donald and the Jaguars’ Calais Campbell. After holding Washington to just 54 yards on 20 carries (2.7 yards per carry), the Jets are officially the most difficult team in the NFL to run the ball against. The Jets have only permitted an average of 81.9 yards on the ground through 10 games, which doesn’t seem to bode well for the run-first Raiders. Much of the credit for the Jets’ defense goes to the embattled Gregg Williams, its coordinato­r.

MOST DOMINANT SAFETY AROUND >> Jamal Adams has arguably been the best defensive player in the NFL over the past three weeks. Over that time, the thirdyear star safety has set a Jets record for most sacks for a defensive back (six) as well as totaling 16 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a touchdown. On Sunday, Adams had three sacks of Washingto’s Dwayne Haskins and is now just two away from the NFL’s single-season record of eight set in 2005 by Arizona’s Adrian Wilson. But Adams isn’t just a pass rushing threat, he’s also the Jets’ best tackler, leading the team with 52. Adams is also considered their top coverage man — he has just one intercepti­on because quarterbac­ks tend to stay away from him.

A RECEIVER TO WORRY ABOUT >> Jamison Crowder is again someone teams need to be concerned about after joining the Jets this season following a down season with Washington last year. Crowder and Sam Darnold have hooked up for touchdown passes in three consecutiv­e games. Crowder has emerged as Darnold’s go-to receiver as he has 18 of his team-best 53 catches in the last three games. Pro Football Focus still rates Crowder as one of the game’s better receivers, a year after he had a career-worst catch percentage of just 59 percent on his targeted throws.

PROBABLE DIFFERENCE­MAKER >> Sam Darnold.

This isn’t the same Sam Darnold who admitted to “seeing ghosts” while in the throes of a two-game streak where he threw seven in intercepti­ons earlier this season. The second-year quarterbac­k has turned things around the past two weeks, including Sunday when he turned in a career-best game — he threw four touchdown passes and had a season-best quarterbac­k rating of 121.3 — in the win over Washington. Against the Raiders’ sometimes-suspect pass defense, Darnold could keep on rolling this week. Of course, there’s always a chance he reverts to the guy who threw intercepti­ons in five of the last six games.

 ?? D. ROSS CAMERON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Raiders quarterbac­k Derek Carr celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the Bengals on Sunday in Oakland.
D. ROSS CAMERON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Raiders quarterbac­k Derek Carr celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the Bengals on Sunday in Oakland.

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