Even when the offense does everything they can, the New York Jets can’t find a way to win.
On Sunday, the Jets arguably put together their best offensive performance of the Aaron Glenn era. Yet, none of it mattered.
Costly penalties and defensive woes handed the Jets another frustrating loss, as they fell 38-33 to the Las Vegas Raiders and dropped to 2-6 on the season.
The Jets came out firing. On the opening play, Geno Smith connected with Garrett Wilson on a 31-yard catch-and-run, then two consecutive rushes from Braelon Allen for 30 yards set the Jets up inside Las Vegas’ five-yard line.
However, the drive stalled near the goal line, and the team settled for a 21-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead, even though a touchdown was right there.
The Raiders responded right out of the gate, though, and they actually finished. Las Vegas went 60 yards downfield on 10 plays, and Brock Bowers capped the drive with a stunning one-handed touchdown catch to take a 7-3 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Jets sent their field goal unit out once again for a 36-yard kick, cutting their deficit to 7-6. Still, though, the red-zone struggles continued, starting 0-for-2 on their first red-zone trips of the day.
After a defensive stop, highlighted by a Will McDonald third-down sack, the Jets regained the lead on an 18-yard Isaiah Williams touchdown reception, finishing a 10-play, 70-yard drive. The offense converted multiple third-and-longs and finally finished in the red zone.
It didn’t last for long, though. Dylan Laube had a 95-yard kick return touchdown, the first kick-return TD of the NFL season, giving the Raiders a 14-13 advantage with 10:44 left in the second quarter. In a competitive game, it’s moments like those that can’t happen for the Jets.
The Jets answered the call quickly, though. The offense compiled its second straight touchdown drive. On fourth-and-one from the Raiders’ 12-yard line, Smith found Adonai Mitchell for a touchdown, marking his fifth catch of the game for 77 yards.
Gang Green then flipped the score to 20-14 with 6:18 left in the first half.
Before heading into halftime, the Jets added another 39-yard field goal, extending their lead to 23-14. With that, they scored on all five of their first-half possessions, the first time in the Aaron Glenn era.
Coming out of the break, though, the Raiders immediately struck. To open the second half, they marched 65 yards down the field on 10 plays before another touchdown to Bowers cut their deficit to 23-21 with 9:59 left in the third quarter.
New York extended their lead to 30-21 with a 21-yard Braelon Allen touchdown after a beautiful catch from Kenyon Sadiq moved the Jets near the red zone. It continued arguably the team’s best offensive performance in the past two seasons.
The scoring fest continued with another Raiders touchdown, making it a 30-28 game with 4:14 to go in the third. While both offenses kept scoring, both defenses struggled mightily throughout the game, especially the Jets, with flags.
The Raiders scored their third straight touchdown, taking a 35-30 lead with 11:33 left in the final quarter. Once again, New York’s defensive struggles continued, and Klint Kubiak outschemed Glenn by attacking the unit’s weak points.
With 4:31 left in the third quarter, the Jets’ offensive momentum stalled out, and they were forced to settle for a field goal, trimming the deficit to 35-33. Despite a magnificent 48-yard dime from Smith to Mitchell, the team had only three points to show for it, squandering a chance to take the lead.
However, the Jets had to use all three timeouts before the two-minute warning, and a few conversions by Las Vegas esentially sealed the victory. A 53-yard field goal put the finishing touches on the game while a Smith interception officially ended it.
If you can’t win when your offense puts up 33 points, when exactly are you supposed to come out on top?
The Jets are now 2-6 and have a week to prepare for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next week.
