Raiders-Jets prediction: Learning the lessons from last season’s big loss to New York
RAIDERS-JETS AT A GLANCE
Kickoff time: 10 a.m. PST Sunday at MetlLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Fresno TV/radio channels: KGPE-47/KFPT (790 AM)/KFIG (940)
Records: Raiders 6-5, Jets 0-11
The line: Bovada and OddsChecker odds favor the Raiders by 8
The Matchup
The Raiders and Jets met last season in Week 12 and New York rolled to a 34-3 win. Are there reasons to fear a repeat?
After a similarly embarrassing 43-6 loss last week to the Atlanta Falcons, Raiders coach Jon Gruden gave his players a message about matching the Jets’ desire for their first win with Las Vegas’ own hunger for a postseason berth.
“I don’t really think about it that much,” the coach said of New York’s motivation. “I tried to tell that to our players today, the Raiders are starving for wins. We haven’t been in the postseason in I don’t know when, a long time. I don’t really worry about anyone else’s mindset. I worry about our mindset.
“We have to have a starving-to-death mentality to get back in the postseason, and the Jets are going to play hard.”
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr knows a thing or two about being winless so late in an NFL season.
In his rookie year in 2014, the Raiders were 0-10 before picking up a win over rival Kansas City Chiefs 24-20.
“It’s a matter of time before they get things going and do things the right way,” Carr said of the Jets. “I’m sure that they are. I’ll pump the brakes on a winless team and just reiterate that they kicked the crap out of us the last time we played them. We had to go there, they beat the dog out of us. So, if we don’t bring it, they’ll do the same thing again.
“We have to make sure that we bring it and we’re ready to fight come Sunday or else they could possibly get their first win and I know that they are hungry for it. It’ll be everything that we got to make sure that we can do anything that we can do to make sure that we get the win instead of them.”
The Raiders will be without running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) and safety Johnathan Abram (knee).
Devontae Booker will get the start in place of Jacobs, with Theo Riddick and Jalen Richard as the backups.
The Jets are led by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who has a team-leading five sacks.
The Jets have seven interceptions, but almost half of those were contributed by cornerback Pierre Desir, who was released and is now with the Baltimore Ravens.
On offense, running back Frank Gore has 141 carries for 521 yards and a touchdown.
Some side notes on the Raiders and Jets:
▪ The Raiders lead the all-time series 23-18-2.
▪ A Raiders win would snap a six-game road losing streak against the Jets, with their last win coming on Oct. 6, 1996 (34-13).
▪ It would be the Raiders’ first victory against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in four games since its opening in 2010.
Injury report
Raiders — OUT: S Johnathan Abram (knee), DT Maliek Collins (hamstring, ankle), RB Josh Jacobs (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: DT Maurice Hurst (ankle, calf), CB Isaiah Johnson (groin), CB Trayvon Mullen (illness).
Jets — OUT: G Alex Lewis (not injury related). QUESTIONABLE: G Pat Elflein (shoulder), T George Fant (knee, ankle).
Raiders-Jets prediction
NFL experts have staked out the following positions ahead of the Week 13 matchup:
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal is siding with the Raiders 28-17.
CBS Sports’ Will Brinson has the Jets in an upset 17-10 win. Pete Prisco says the Raiders bounce back in a 30-14 win.
All 10 ESPN experts are going with the Raiders.
What an embarrassing loss it was for the Raiders. It sure shocked me in a big way when I had the Raiders scoring 43 points. Instead it was the Falcons.
The Raiders know they need to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive with bigger games looming.
The Raiders also know what happened to them last season against the Jets.
The pick: Raiders 34, Jets 13
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
