The Jets (2-5) face their first AFC West opponent of the season as the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) come to MetLife Stadium in Week 8 on Sunday. After dropping their last two divisional matchups, the Green & White look to improve against the Raiders, who have lost their past four games.
"When it comes to this game, we have a team with a lot of talent," HC Aaron Glenn said on Wednesday. "It's clear when you see it on the field, offense, defense and special teams, so we have our work cut out for us."
The Jets have scored points on their opening possession in three consecutive weeks, tied for the second-longest active streak in the NFL. Last week, while the Raiders forced the Rams to punt on their opening drive, they allowed 28 first-half points and lost, 35-21. On defense, the Raiders have struggled against the run, and Los Angeles had two running backs rush for nearly 100 yards each.
During their four-game losing streak, offensively, the Raiders' run game hasn't been as strong as it was to start the season. They have not eclipsed 100 yards on the ground since defeating the Saints in Week 3 and the Rams held them to 49 rushing yards marking the fourth week their rushing offense has been contained to fewer than 75 yards.
For the Jets, RB Braelon Allen has started the past four games, and his 357 yards in that stretch are the second-most in the league behind only Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving (378). Additionally, Allen has had a bigger role in the Jets' passing game with 56 receiving yards in the past two games.
"He's not just a guy that can just run in between the tackles cause he's 250 pounds," Glenn said. "He's a guy that has good hands ... It's something we knew he could do and he's just flourishing at it."
Since Omar Cooper Jr. returned to the lineup in Week 6, the Jets gained another deep ball threat; he is the first player in over 40 seasons to record multiple games of 100-plus receiving yards and a receiving TD in their first three career games.
The Raiders rank 29th in total defense, allowing opponents nearly 373.7 yards per game on average. Against the Dolphins in a 28-25 loss, the Jets had 377 net yards, their highest single-game total this season.
QB Geno Smith, who was a Raider last season, ranks third in completion percentage (70.0%) and is one of three quarterbacks this season with 3 completions over 50 yards -- Cooper was on the receiving end of two of them against Miami last week.
The Raiders' biggest offensive threat the Jets will have to contain is TE Brock Bowers. Because of how they use Bowers and TE Michael Mayer, they lead the NFL in 12 personnel usage (2 tight ends on the field) with 218 plays this season -- that's 51 plays more than the Bears who rank second.
Despite missing the first two games of the season after undergoing a meniscus trim, Bowers is second on the Raiders in receiving yards with 455, 19 shy of WR Tre Tucker who has played in all 7 games. In the past two weeks, Tucker had 10 receptions for 200 receiving yards and 3 TDs.
"Bowers is a top-of-the-line receiver/tight end that we have to be careful of, and Tucker is a guy that can take the top off," Glenn said.
The Raiders use the fewest number of 11 personnel sets (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in the NFL having only run 65 plays in that formation the entire season. The San Francisco 49ers use that personnel package the second-fewest, but still double Las Vegas' number of 131 plays.
