EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Derek Carr refused to downplay what had just happened to him and the Oakland Raiders.
Their three-game winning streak was over — before the third quarter even ended.
“We got our butts kicked,” Carr said after the Raiders’ 34-3 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. “There’s no other way around that. They got after us from start to finish. Hopefully, it’s an eye opener. Hopefully we take it and learn from it like we did earlier in the season against the Vikings.
“We got our face kicked in a little bit.”
The Raiders (6-5) were 1-2 after a 34-14 loss at Minnesota in Week 3, but bounced back to win two in a row. They lost two straight after that, but then put together the three-game streak they brought with them into a rain-soaked MetLife Stadium.
Oakland had its sights on a possible AFC West first-place showdown at Kansas City next week. Instead, they got outplayed by a suddenly resurgent Jets (4-7) team that pulled away in the second half.
“We’d better show up or they’re going to beat us by 50,” Carr said of the Chiefs. “They’re a really good football team, one of the best in the NFL. Hopefully our guys, myself included, when we show up at Arrowhead a week from now, we’re ready to go. And I believe we will be.”
There Wasn’t Much to Like About This One From the Raiders’ Standpoint
The Raiders were held to a season-low 208 total yards on offense, unable to do much of anything against a stingy Jets defense.
Rookie Josh Jacobs, fourth in the NFL in rushing, was held to 34 yards on 10 carries. The Jets came in allowing a league-low 79.1 yards rushing, and gave up 68 to Oakland — also a season low for the Raiders.
“They just had a better game plan than us,” Jacobs said.
Meanwhile, the Jets racked up 401 total yards, with Sam Darnold throw for 315 of them with two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
“You ever been on a boat that’s sinking? It’s not happy,” coach Jon Gruden said. “It’s not pleasant. It’s adversity. It’s football. You’ve got to respond to adversity. We didn’t do a good enough job as coaches rallying our troops today. I’m not going to say much more. I’m emotional about it.
“I’m really anxious to get on to the next game.”
That’s because there wasn’t much to like about this one from the Raiders’ standpoint.
“If you’re not on your game, you’re in for trouble,” Gruden said. “I hope the players listen after the game. We’ve got a tight group of players. We’ve got some very good veterans. We’re 6-5. It’s Thanksgiving week. It’s a long trip out here to New Jersey. We’ve got a long trip back to California. We’ve got a long trip next week and hopefully we’re going to be ready to play. Hopefully we’re going to play a lot better.”
The Jets Defense Then Came up Big on Oakland’s First Possession
Oakland was still in at halftime, trailing 13-3. But the Jets came out quickly to start the second half and didn’t let up.
On New York’s third play of the third quarter, Braxton Berrios took a short pass from Darnold on a slant and zipped down the field for 69 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the 1. Darnold found a wide-open Ryan Griffin for a touchdown on the next play.
The Jets defense then came up big on Oakland’s first possession of the second half, stuffing Alec Ingold for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Raiders 39.
New York took over and used some razzle-dazzle, with Darnold handing off to Bilal Powell, who flipped it to Jamison Crowder — who then tossed it back to the Jets quarterback. Darnold then threw to Robby Anderson, who reached up for a 30-yard gain. Three plays later, Darnold connected with Anderson again for a 1-yard touchdown.
On the Raiders’ next possession, Carr’s first-down pass was deflected by Neville Hewitt and landed in the hands of Brian Poole, who returned it 15 yards for the sealing touchdown. After one more series, Carr — who went 15 of 27 for 127 yards — was pulled by Gruden with the game out of reach.
“We’re not the ’85 Bears,” Gruden said. “We’re a development football team. We’re developing our roster. We’re making strides. Today was a setback. We’re going to give our preparation every ounce of diligence that we can. We know what we’re up against at Arrowhead. They’re coming off a bye week, so it’s not going to be easy.”
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