Throughout the offseason, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Randy Lange, Jack Bell and Amanda Vogt will give their responses to a series of questions regarding the Jets.
Today's question: What's the most intriguing Jets-Raiders' Matchup?
EA: I had originally planned to go with the "old" gunslingers – Jets QB Geno Smith and Raiders QB Kirk Cousins – who are still playing at a high level. Smith, 36, ranks third in completion percentage (70%) and sixth in passer rating (105.2). On passes attempts that travel 20-plus yards, Smith ranks first in completion percentage (61.1%). Cousins, 38, is tied for the NFL lead with 16 TD passes and his 1,877 yards rank fourth. But football ultimately is a line of scrimmage game and I can't wait to watch Jets RT Armand Membou step in the ring with Raiders edge Maxx Crosby. Pro Football Focus has an 86.2 grade on Crosby, which is the seventh-highest amongst edges and the top grade for any starter on either side. According to Next Gen Stats, Membou has allowed just three quick pressures (pressures within 2.5 seconds of the snap), the fourth-fewest in the league among 31 right tackles with at least 150 pass blocking snaps. Crosby, who has just 2 sacks this season but 16 QB hits, has racked up double-digit sacks in three of the past four seasons. HC Aaron Glenn reminded Membou this week that "he's a dude" and he's going against a top-flight guy the Jets feel like he can match up with.
AV: TE Brock Bowers against the Jets secondary is the most intriguing matchup this week. The Raiders treat Bowers more like a wideout with how they utilize him, and they have run the most plays in the league in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE formation). According to Next Gen Stats, 33.7% of Bowers' routes have been vertical, and he leads tight ends in targets (20), receptions (13) and receiving yards (249) on vertical routes this season. Even with Bowers missing the first two games, he is just 19 yards shy of WR Tre Tuckers' team-leading receiving mark (474). Limiting his explosiveness will be pivotal for the Jets and overall, the Green & White have allowed six or fewer explosive plays in six of their seven games this season. The Raiders also rely on Tucker as a vertical threat, but Bowers has been QB Kirk Cousins' most targeted option. Bowers averages 13.4 yards per catch, and his best performance was in his first game action of the season in Week 3 against the Saints where he had 10 receptions and 116 yards and a touchdown. He has not scored the past two games and has been held under 75 yards each time. Entering Week 8, the Jets have the league's fifth-ranked pass defense and are only allowing 187.7 yards per game.
RL: Aaron Glenn said of Vegas edge Maxx Crosby, "You really see how he causes some issues." Geno Smith shortened that scouting report to: "He's a game wrecker." The praise from the Jets and around the NFL is warranted: Mad Maxx over the previous 5 seasons has averaged more than 10 sacks and 25 QB hits and exactly 1 Pro Bowl roster berth each year. This season hasn't been a big sack-'n'-tackle campaign so far for No. 98 in silver and black ─ he's played in all 7 games but has just 2 sacks and 18 tackles. But his 16 hits on the QB are tied for fourth in the league, and, lining up on either edge, he's coming for Smith, his old friend and former one-year teammate. That's why it's up to Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, the Jets' still young bookend tackles, to be ready to dance with Crosby and keep him from crashing Smith's doorstep and swooping in for hard hits on the Green & White backs, wherever they may be on the field.
JB: The Jets' offense vs. the Raiders' defense. After starting the season with three straight victories, the Raiders (3-4) have lost four in a row -- allowing 30 or more points in each defeat, including a 45-17 blowout at the Patriots in Week 5. Jets QB Geno Smith is third in completion percentage (70%) and seventh in passer rating (105.2). Last week, the Jets put up 25 points in a loss to Miami, the team's highest output in points so far this season. Braelon Allen, in relief of the injured Breece Hall, has rushed for 100-plus yards in 2 of the last 3 games and rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. has put up back-to-back 100-plus-yard receiving games with TDs in consecutive games, winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award the past two weeks. The Raiders' fast start has evaporated as the defense, now ranked 29th in the league, is allowing 5.9 yards a play (30th), 373.7 yards a game (29th), 28.1 points a game (29th), 143.6 rush yards per (30th) and 230.1 passing yards (21st). Smith has engineered 27 explosive plays so far this season, plays the Raiders have struggled to defend. Las Vegas is tied for 25th, allowing 26 explosives (27 of 10-plus, and 19 of 20-plus), both near the bottom of the league.
