Key advanced metrics for New York Jets offense in 31-28 loss to Las Vegas Raiders

Led by Mekhi Becton, the New York Jets' running game stomped on the Raiders' defense, but the passing game had some problems. Run behind No. 77 Mekhi Becton's run blocking has been excellent all year, but until yesterday, there had not been a game in which the Jets took full advantage of the holes he created. That all changed against the Raiders, as the offense produced some phenomenal numbers when running behind Becton. Overall, the Jets ran for 206 yards against Las Vegas, their most in a game since dropping 323 yards (second-most in team history) on the Broncos in Week 5 of 2018. Ty Johnson and Josh Adams combined for 178 yards on 30 carries, a sparkling 5.9 average. A significant chunk of that success came behind Becton. The Jets ran to the left side 17 times for 112 yards (6.6 average). They were less successful in the opposite direction, rushing to the right side 15 times for 72 yards (4.8 average). At Pro Football Focus, Becton earned a run blocking grade of 81.8, third-best among left tackles in Week 13 as of Monday afternoon. Since Week 9, Becton has the third-best run blocking grade among left tackles (83.7), trailing only Morgan Moses (Washington) and D.J. Humphries (Arizona). On the season, Becton's 77.9 run blocking grade is eighth-best among left tackles, which is incredibly impressive for a 21-year-old rookie that has been battling injuries throughout the year. However, Becton had one of his roughest games in pass protection. He was knocked with four pressures over 29 protection snaps (13.8% rate), including two strip-sacks of Sam Darnold allowed to Clelin Ferrell. The second was not entirely Becton's fault, as that was a miscommunicated stunt pickup with Pat Elflein. Nevertheless, some of Becton's technical issues, specifically with hand placement, led to glaring mistakes in this one. Denzel Mims extends 40-yard streak It was one of Denzel Mims' quieter outings, as he only grabbed 2 of 3 targets for 40 yards (adding in a two-point conversion), but he managed to extend a streak that puts him in fantastic company. Mims has posted at least 40 receiving yards in all six of his games this season. He joins Andre Johnson (2003), Amari Cooper (2015), Stefon Diggs (2015), Michael Thomas (2016), and fellow 2020 rookie CeeDee Lamb as the only rookie wide receivers in NFL history to post 40+ receiving yards in each of their first six career games. While the targets have been fleeting - partially his own fault due to the need for route-running improvements and partially on the quarterbacks/coaches - Mims' efficiency this season on a per-opportunity basis has been excellent. Mims has moved the chains on 14 of his 19 receptions, a 73.7% rate that ranks 18th-best out of the 117 wide receivers with 15+ receptions (85th percentile). His average of 17.1 yards per reception ranks seventh-best (95th percentile). Can Cameron Clark really be worse than Josh Andrews and Pat Elflein? The Jets continued to get nothing but atrocious production out of their backup linemen. Pat Elflein started his second consecutive game at left guard following the mysterious exit of Alex Lewis, who has been placed on the non-football injury list. He was knocked with four pressures over 30 protection snaps (13.3%) and earned an astoundingly bad PFF pass blocking grade of 13.3, the worst of his career and fourth-worst among guards in Week 13 as of Monday afternoon. Josh Andrews replaced Greg Van Roten at right guard after the latter left the game just 12 snaps in. He gave up three pressures over 24 snaps in protection (12.5%) and put up a similarly ghastly 28.9 pass blocking grade. Fourth-round rookie Cameron Clark was inactive yet again for this game. This is mere speculation, but one has to imagine that Clark must be struggling in practice for him to not be getting the call over Elflein and Andrews, who have played poorly. However, if Van Roten misses extended time, Clark will most likely be activated for next week's game and assume the top backup role at guard, setting him up to get his first NFL action in the event of an injury. Josh Adams runs wild while Ty Johnson maximizes blocking Josh Adams (8 carries for 74 yards, 9.3 average) was more electric than Ty Johnson (22 carries for 104 yards, 4.7 average), and that's simply because he created more production on his own. Adams broke three tackles over his eight carries (0.375 per carry) while Johnson broke two over his 22 (0.091 per carry). The 2020 average for running backs is 0.162. Adams gained a whopping 8.5 yards after contact per carry compared to just 0.8 yards before contact per carry, gaining 89.0% of his yards after contact. Johnson gained just 1.8 yards after contact compared to a huge 2.9 yards before contact, picking up only 37.5% of his yards after contact. The NFL averages for running backs this season: 2.8 yards after contact, 1.5 yards before contact, and 66.0% of yards gained after contact. Credit is due to Johnson for showcasing good vision and decisively choosing the correct holes, making the most of his solid speed, but Adams was the true game-changer in this one, racking up far more than what was blocked for him. George Fant returns After missing the previous game against Miami, George Fant returned to the starting lineup at right tackle, producing some mixed results. He allowed four pressures on 30 protection snaps (13.3%), a poor total, but his pass blocking grade was a decent 57.9, which ranks 14th out of 24 right tackles to play in Week 13 thus far. This suggests that his losses in protection were not exactly catastrophic. In the run game, Fant earned a 63.2 grade, also ranked 14th out of 24 qualifiers in Week 13 to date. It was a ho-hum return for Fant. There were not many times he popped out positively, but he rarely stood out in a bad way, either. Jamison Crowder finally gets his due Jamison Crowder had been hung out to dry by his quarterback countless times over the past few games, resulting in misleadingly poor production. Against the Raiders, Darnold finally found his top-tier slot receiver when he got himself open. Crowder grabbed 5 of 7 targets for 47 yards, with all five catches resulting in conversions. Three were first downs and the other two were touchdowns. The 27-year-old's hands have been soft this season. Crowder has 40 receptions and just one drop. Connor McGovern is heating up Connor McGovern allowed only one pressure over 30 protection snaps (3.3%) against Las Vegas. He looked great in the running game, helping to power a strong inside attack. Over 20 carries between the tackles, the Jets picked up 147 yards (7.4 average) and eight first downs (40.0% rate). McGovern was in the middle of that success. His 82.8 run blocking grade is a season-best and ranks second among centers in Week 13 thus far. Since Week 9 (McGovern and the Jets have played 4 games over that span), McGovern is PFF's top-ranked center in the running game (89.4 grade) and No. 2 center overall (81.4 grade). From a physical standpoint, McGovern has been tremendous this season. He wins one-on-one protection reps with regularity and has been very strong as a run blocker. McGovern just needs to continue ironing out his issues with awareness and decision-making in protection, working his way back to where he was in these areas last season. Progress is being made, but there is still some work to be done before we can confidently say his pressure prevention ability has returned to the elite level it was at in 2019.