Oakland Raiders: A Few Keys To Beating The New York Jets

Punish Josh McCown

Not that we didn’t already know this about Josh McCown, but the Bills laid a pretty solid blueprint down for beating this Jets team – when McCown is uncomfortable and on the run, he doesn’t perform well.

This Raiders defense needs to apply constant and consistent pressure, get in his face, rattle him, and force him into mistakes.

Third-round pick Eddie Vanderdoes looks like he genuinely was a big steal in the draft – even though his contributions don’t pop on the stat sheet. But he, and what looks to be a revitalized Justin Ellis, led the charge in getting a push up front for this Raiders team.

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The job they did in Nashville – against that offensive line and a quarterback as mobile as Mariota – was admirable. For the day, the defense as a whole logged four quarterback hits, three tackles for a loss, and a sack – although they just missed out on opportunities for a couple more.

They’re going to have some opportunities against the Jets. This is a team that allowed Buffalo to push them around and put some heat on McCown. And that resulted in New York’s offense getting bogged down and unable to move the chains very effectively – they tallied just 214 yards of total offense and 11 first downs on the day.

The defensive front did an outstanding job against Tennessee’s top running backs and limiting their effectiveness. What they didn’t do, was get to Mariota a whole bunch. Against a creaky Jets offensive line that has a few issue, the Raiders will need to take advantage of the opportunities they get.

It all starts up front. The defense needs to hit McCown early and often, take the offense out of a rhythm, and impose their will on this Jets team.