Emotions were high for the Las Vegas Raiders following the firing of now-former head coach Josh McDaniels. So high, [interim] head coach Antonio Pierce led a blowout victory over his former team, the New York Giants. Is there enough time to salvage the season despite its poor start? Can rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell keep piling wins?
Why were the Raiders successful in their first week under Coach AP?
While it is improbable the Raiders win the remaining eight games on their schedule, it’s not impossible. What it’s going to take is attention to detail, focus, and execution. Unselfishness, and every man working together; from the members of the practice squad to the head coach.
The plethora of talent on the Raiders’ offense has lain dormant prior to Week 9’s duel against the Giants. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, the fourth-rounder from Purdue, was able to analyze the defense, make his reads, find the open receiver and distribute the football. Completing passes to eight different receivers, he forced the defense to either cover every inch of the field or suffer his wrath.
The offensive line played their best game of the season by far, and it still wasn’t close to perfect. Not allowing a sack and momentarily getting former 2023 rushing champion Josh Jacobs over 100 yards in a game for the first time all season was huge. It wasn’t just the fact that the line didn’t give up a sack; Aidan O’Connell was only hit once. A fact that will be crucial moving forward.
Jets offense stuck on the ground
Nobody will ever accuse the 2023 New York Jets of being a high-powered offense, nor a high-scoring team. In fact, the eight total touchdowns on their stat sheet this season is downright sad; made more sad that Zach Wilson is under center instead of Aaron Rodgers, no matter how exciting running back Breece Hall is, or how good Garrett Wilson might be.
As of now, [Garrett] Wilson, tight end Tyler Conklin, and Hall are the top-three pass catchers from the Jets. All three share a whopping total of three receiving touchdowns and one of them hasn’t contributed any at all. Where the Jets pose the greatest challenge to the Raiders is the ground game.
Hall is a threat to take it the distance every time he touches the football. Fortunately for the Raiders, Hall is only having big production games every fourth game. Last week, against the Buffalo Bills, Hall had 127 yards on 10 carries. In week 5 against the Denver Broncos he ran for 177 yards and one of his two rushing touchdowns on the season.
Bo [Hardegree] better know
Jets head coach Robert Saleh knows defense well, and has built one that is a top-ten unit. Saleh’s defense alone makes this matchup a drastic step up in weight class from playing the Giants. John Franklin-Myers, Quinnen Williams and Bryce Huff are three massive problems up the middle for the Raiders’ offensive line.
Center Andre James along with guards Dylan Parham and Greg Von Roten have to continue building off the strong showing they had against Dexter Lawrence and the interior forces of the Giants’ defense. Communication will be crucial as assistance may be required amongst the center of the line. In the run game, being able to double and get to the second level is going to be imperative to the success of Jacobs and the run game.
Deceptive double and triple teams are not new to Davante Adams. What the [interim] offensive coordinator and former quarterbacks coach has to communicate to his young signal caller is to be mindful of disguise.
Aidan O’Connell needs to be mindful of safeties sitting on the hashes shading towards Adams’ side. Ahmed “Sauce” Gardner is slated to be lining up across from Adams often, and O’Connell needs to be cognizant of where the safety is so he can better decide where to go with the ball.
Raiders’ keys to the game
- Score early
- Dominate the trenches
- Run the football
In order for the Raiders to be successful they are going to have to do a few things. Controlling the line of scrimmage on offense and defense is always a key to success. However, when it comes to the Jets, the pass protection is shaky at best. It hasn’t been great. Defensively, the Jets’ front seven is ferocious, and much like the Raiders has kept them in games they had no business being in. They’ve given New York chances to steal games late.
More than anything else, it is important for the Raiders to score first and build as big a lead as they can early. Zach Wilson continues to be a detriment to his team rather than a reason for why they are getting better. While his head coach may have his back all the way to another galaxy, you can’t help but conclude the Jets are doomed should they have to take to the air.
Wilson and the Jets are not equipped to play from behind, which is precisely why the Raiders need to get out to an early lead and make the Jets one-dimensional.
*Top Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images