Who will have the luck of the draw in Las Vegas tonight? The 4-4 Jets in their first road trip ever to play in Las Vegas (Paradise, NV, in reality) or the 4-5 Raiders? It feels like a tossup between these two six-decades-long rivals when they kick off in Allegiant Stadium around 8:20 p.m. ET.
Jets QB0ach Wilson has scuffled lately but he still holds the promise of assembling a breakout game, especially if his battered and bruised offensive line can get a dynamic Breece Hall-led ground game off and running. It was three games before Hall exploded for 177 yards and a 72-yard dash for the end zone at Denver. It's been three games since that Rocky Mountain high, and Hall and the Jets would love to crease and gouge the Raiders' 31st-ranked run defense (27th in yards/carry allowed).
That successfully accomplished, Wilson will need help from his beefy cordon to keep DE "Mad Maxx" Crosby away from his pocket so he can find Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, TE Tyler Conklin and others in the pass game.
The Jets defense would also appear to have the statistical edge, coming in this week at ninth in total yards allowed/game and third in net pass yards allowed. And the sackers — Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Jermaine Johnson, Quinton Jefferson and the rest of the front — will want to team up with Saice Gardner, D.J. Reed, Jordan Whitehead and the cover team to coax multiple sacks and turnovers out of rookie QB Aidan O'Connell, filling in for a third time for veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Jets, who made life miserable for more than a half for their only other rookie QB opponent, the Giants' Tommy DeVito, would like to do the same to the fourth-round rookie QB out of Purdue. O'Connell does have the formidable talents of veteran stars Davante Adams at WR and Josh Jacobs at RB.
See photos the Jets getting ready in Las Vegas for Sunday Night Football against the Raiders.
He also will be without his blindside block of granite, LT Kolton Miller, who injured his shoulder and has been deactivated.
Teamwise, both the Green & White and the Silver & Black have had their issues. But even if the Jets offense is touchdown-challenged again, or the Raiders yield some big plays in front of their home crowd, this game just feels like a close-to-the-vest affair, and not just because their records are right on or just below the .500 cutting edge.
Consider that the Jets and Raiders have played quite an even series for a number of years. They have split their last two meetings (back to 2019), their last six (2013), their last eight (2009), their last 10 (2006) and their last 16 (2001).
The Jets' seven-player inactive list includes T Billy Turner, whose finger kept him out of practice all week after he started at RT vs. the Chargers on Monday night.
But DL Carl Lawson, inactive the past two games, is active tonight, while rookie edge rusher Will McDonald is deactivated.
- WR Jason Brownlee
- WR Reggie Cobb
- RB Israel Abanikanda
- DB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
- T Billy Turner
- LB Chazz Surratt
- LB Will McDonald
And this is the Raiders' seven-man inactive list:
- QB Brian Hoyer
- LB Jaylon Smith
- FB Jakob Johnson
- T Kolton Miller
- DT Byron Young
- DE Isaac Rochell
- DT Nesta Jade Silvera
