Raiders avenge hotdogate with win over Jets

The last time these two teams met up in the regular season, the Jets beat the Raiders so easily that Jets QB Mark Sanchez was caught eating a hotdog on the sideline. The Raiders have waited two seasons to avenge that act of disrespect. They got their chance in their regular season home opener in front of a sold out crowd.

The fans were eager to see their team back on the field in a regular season game for the first time since last season’s 8-8 finish. The Raiders didn’t disappoint as they rolled over the Jets 34-24.

One could feel the buzz and energy of the crowd prior to the start of this critical matchup. The Jets were favored as the strong defensive team that had been to the AFC Championship game the last two seasons. The Raiders had just come off a heartbreaking loss to the Bills after a defensive collapse at the end of the game.

The Jets were 2-0 coming into this game in what was a critical game for the Raiders as they head into a tough three-game stretch. For much of the first half of this game, the Raiders looked like they were in for a long road.

The Raiders scored on their opening drive to go up 7-0 to start the game. On that drive, new tight end Kevin Boss had his first catch as a Raider after returning from an injury he suffered in the preseason. It went for 28 yards and set the Raiders up on the two yard line where they scored on the next play with Darren McFadden running it for a touchdown.

The tides shifted for a while after that with the Jets scoring 17 unanswered points. Their first touchdown was set up by a 74 yard run by LaDainian Tomlinson to the one yard line. Mark Sanchez ran it in off a bootleg a couple of plays later.

The next Jets touchdown was brought to you by penalties. A pass interference penalty and illegal use of hands penalty, both on Stanford Routt, helped put the Jets at the Raider 20 yard line where they would score two plays later.

The Jets moved the ball down the field to the Raiders’ five yard line, but the defense held to force a field goal. Something seemed to click for the defense at that moment. Their hearts seemed to grow ten sizes. They had held the Jets out of the endzone, and the momentum started to shift.

Hue Jackson said the change in the defensive mentality came down to one word: “Finish. I wanted them to finish. We talked about it. I showed them a graphic. It was well documented. We hadn’t scored in the first quarter and we’d given up a lot of points in the second half. I showed them that during the week and said we have to do something about this. One thing I love about my football team is what I emphasize they normally give me. We’re not perfect yet but we’re working at it. The guys knew we had to make a change. The biggest thing is at some point in time a group of men who are fighting together have to say enough and they got to get it changed and they did today.”

On the next Raider possession the momentum would experience a windfall when McFadden took a handoff and raced around the left edge of the line 70 yards for a touchdown. Kevin Boss showed his blocking prowess on the run as he sealed off the left side for McFadden to take the edge. The crowd was back in the game and the Raiders were back in it as well.

The defense stopped the Jets on a four play drive to give the Raider offense another chance to score before halftime. Again, they didn’t disappoint. This time it was a methodical grind down the field to set up Janikowski for a 54 yard field goal to send the teams into the locker room 17-17 and all the momentum the Raiders’ way.

The biggest difference in the defense’s play between the first and second half was pressure on the quarterback. Mark Sanchez was very comfortable in the pocket through the first two quarters and didn’t get so much as pressured. But in the second half, that changed.

The Jets’ first four possessions each featured a Raider sack. Jarvis Moss, Kamerion Wimbley, Richard Seymour, and Tommy Kelly all got to Sanchez, while Rolando McClain added a pressure for an incompletion.

“Our front seven is one of the best in football,” said Richard Seymour. ”And anytime we’re allowed to rush the passer and they’re just gonna keep their offensive line in to block, I think we can rush against anybody. I felt early on they were trying to mix in the run and the pass and keep us off-balance. But our offense kept putting up points. Just gave us another opportunity to pin our ears back and get after their passer. We got some hits on him early just to try and rattle him. Individual efforts were great all across the board. It was a big win for us, to say the least.”

Overall, the third quarter was a battle of the defenses with neither team able to break the tie until the final drive when the Raiders were able to put it in the endzone again. The drive lasted four plays. It started with an incompletion on the first pass attempt to the man Darelle Revis was covering (this time it was Darrius Heyward-Bey). Then it was a 13 yard pass to Derek Hagan, a 27 yard half-back-pass-turned-run by McFadden, and finished off by a brilliantly executed 23 yard end around by Denarius Moore which he stretched over the goal line to score the touchdown.

The ensuing kickoff was bobbled by Antonio Cromartie and recovered by the Raiders at the Jets’ 12 yard line. A Darren McFadden 11 yard run to finish the third quarter set up a one yard touchdown by Michael Bush to start the fourth quarter. The Raiders took a commanding lead 31-17.

Much of those 31 points were at the expense of Antonio Cromartie. The Raiders only had one pass to Darrelle Revis’ man the entire game. The rest of the time it was Cromartie giving up the catches. When he wasn’t giving up catches to Raider receivers, he was being called for penalties to keep the ball moving down the field. After his bobbled kick return fumble, he left the game with a rib injury and didn’t return.

A couple of possessions after the Raiders converted the touchdown on the turnover, the Jets would score a TD of their own. That score kept things interesting, but a late field goal by Sebastian Janikowksi put the Raiders up by two scores. The Jets threatened but were stopped at the one yard line on fourth and goal to seal their fate.

Darren McFadden was the story of this game. He had 121 yards rushing in the first half. That is the first time in the Rex Ryan era that a running back has rushed for over 100 yards in the first half, and only the fourth time in his tenure that a back has rushed for over 100 yards for the entire game. McFadden would finish with 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The 70 yard run he had in the second quarter was the longest of his career.

After the game Hue Jackson said emphatically of McFadden: “He’s the best back in football, bar none.”

The win wasn’t without cost. Injuries mounted as the game went on. Marcel Reece went out early in the game with an ankle injury and didn’t return. Jason Campbell admitted that the team had made him a big part of their game plan but were unable to do so after the injury. Darren McFadden was looked at on the sideline for a sore groin, but after a good stretch he returned and he said he had no injury to report. Michael Huff went out with a concussion and didn’t return. Chris Johnson went out with a hamstring injury and didn’t return; he was replaced by Chimdi Chekwa who played quite well in Johnson’s stead.

Hue Jackson has now won his first game as an NFL head coach and his first home game. Jackson didn’t mince words about how important this win was for him and his team.

“This is one of the greatest victories I’ve ever been a part of, and I played in the AFC championship game,” an emotional Hue Jackson said. “We’re becoming something and we’re coming. We’re not there yet. I can’t sit up here and tell you we’re there. But our players understand if we just stick to the plan of work, play with a purpose, stay consistent, and every week prepare the way we prepare we’ll have a chance. That’s all I ask, just that we have a chance.”

Box Score

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