It was an ugly scene last year in East Rutherford, N.J. as the New York Jets demolished the Las Vegas Raiders’ playoff hopes. Will 2020 be a repeat of that carnage?
The Raiders will have to vanquish some ghosts on the road to what they’re hoping will be a playoff berth. Last season, as the team found itself fighting for their playoff lives, those dreams came crashing down in a sea of rain and offensive ineptitude. The Jets shut down quarterback Derek Carr, and the offense in general when they were held to 208 total yards. The Raiders mighty running game was completely suppressed, and by the end of the game, only they only mustered 68 yards on the ground.
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For their 2020 matchup to be any different, Carr will have to take advantage of the plethora of weapons he’s gotten. The game’s on December 6th. By then, the Raiders should have their offensive identity figured out. They’ll try their best to get running back Josh Jacobs going early to open up a passing attack that will feature, barring major injury, Henry Ruggs III, Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards, and Tyrell Williams.
Raiders: Some New Faces
Defensively speaking, the Raiders will face some familiar faces as the Jets didn’t make any flashy additions to their defense. They retained many contributors from 2019 such as linebacker Neville Hewitt along with cornerbacks Arthur Maulet and Brian Poole. What the Raiders will have to worry about is how they will attack an offensive line that’s expected to be improved. With the 11th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Jets selected Mekhi Becton from Louisville. In free agency, the team added guard Gren Van Roten, tackle George Fant, and brought back center Connor McGovern as well as guard Alex Lewis.
Defending the Jets wide receivers will also be no easy task for the Raiders defense. In a double swoop, they signed 26-year-old Breshad Perriman, who has 11 career touchdowns. Also, they selected Denzel Mims from Baylor in the second round this past draft. Given what happened last season and that while the Jets didn’t make any “sexy” acquisitions, they didn’t get worse either as they continue their rebuild. This can easily turn into a trap game depending on how the team looks by December, we’ll have to wait and see.
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*Top Photo: Al Pereira/Getty Images