An overwhelming, consistent display carried the Oakland Raiders to a 45-20 blowout victory over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon in the Bay Area.
Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree scored three touchdowns in a single game for the second time in his career while Oakland’s running game rushed for a combined 180 yards. The Raiders outgained New York 410-271 on the day while putting up 21 points in the first half and another 24 in the second.
The Jets saw new pass catcher Jermaine Kearse put up a pair of touchdowns in the loss, but that was the only positive the team could possibly take.
However, an easy Raiders win was expected considering the Jets were two-touchdown underdogs heading into Oakland.
And within 10 minutes, they were trailing after the Raiders rumbled 81 yards to open the scoring. Quarterback Derek Carr hit Crabtree on a two-yard fade in the left corner of the end zone to put the game’s first points on the board.
Just like in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, the Jets could generate little during the first quarter as they were outgained 111-21, which made trailing 7-0 seem like a small victory.
But the advantage grew a bit larger two minutes into the second quarter when Crabtree picked up his second touchdown of the afternoon, a 26-yard lob from Carr.
Remarkably, the Jets found an answer on the ensuing drive in a rare display of offensive aggression downfield when McCown hit Kearse with a 34-yard touchdown strike to halve New York’s deficit.
They drew even closer with three minutes left in the half after Chandler Catanzaro knocked home a 46-yard field goal. It was a pair of penalties and the run game fueled by Matt Forte that helped get the Jets into field-goal range. The veteran back recorded 29 yards on the single drive, a stark improvement from the 38 yards the Jets’ running game put up as an entire team in Week 1 against the Bills.
The Jets looked to further gain momentum at the end of the half when the defense forced a quick Oakland three-and-out. However, they came crashing back down to earth on the ensuing punt when Kalif Raymond was unable to catch it, gifting the Raiders possession on the four-yard line with 1:50 left.
Three plays later, Marshawn Lynch plowed his way to his first touchdown of the season and his first since November of 2015 with 21 seconds left to give Oakland a 21-10 lead, demoralizing the Jets heading into the locker room.
After the Jets managed to tack on another field goal, Cordarrelle Patterson broke the game open for the Raiders when he took a draw play 43 yards up the middle to put the hosts up 15 in the third quarter. Jalen Richard sliced the Jets open yet again early in the fourth quarter when he took a pitch from Carr 52 yards untouched.
It only got worse.
McCown fumbled away the ball when he was sacked by cornerback Karl Joseph deep in Jets territory. After a pass interference penalty put the ball on the one-yard-line, Crabtree nabbed his third touchdown of the day, making Kearse’s second score of the afternoon irrelevant.
