Jets at Raiders
THE STORY: After traveling across the country and losing in depressing fashion to an AFC East team, perhaps the Oakland Raiders will have better luck at home. The Raiders allowed touchdowns on all five of the Buffalo Bills’ possessions in the second half last week, squandering an 18-point lead in a 38-35 loss. The New York Jets had no such trouble in Week 2, carrying the momentum from an emotional Week 1 win and trouncing the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets will be looking to secure their first road win when they visit Oakland on Sunday.
TV: CBS, 4:05 p.m. ET. LINE: New York -3.5, O/U 41
ABOUT THE JETS (2-0): New York needed a little luck to win in Week 1, but showed off the dominating form that made it a preseason playoff pick in a 32-3 rout of the Jaguars last week. The vaunted Jets defense grabbed four interceptions and allowed just 91 passing yards. Sunday begins a stretch of three straight road games for New York, which will get to test itself at Baltimore and New England in the coming weeks. The Jets are 11-5 on the road under head coach Rex Ryan. New York will be without center Nick Mangold (ankle) against Oakland.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (1-1): Not only did the Oakland defense allow five straight touchdowns last Sunday, but it gave up the final score on fourth down with 14 seconds left. After holding the Denver Broncos to 38 yards rushing in a Week 1 victory, the Raiders allowed the Bills to scamper for 223. Making matters worse is the injury report, which lists wide receivers Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy as questionable and tight end Kevin Boss as probable. If those players are out or limited, running back Darren McFadden, who ranks second in the NFL with 222 yards, could get the bulk of the work against a Jets defense that has allowed only one 100-yard rusher in the last 25 games.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. New York won in Oakland 38-0 on Oct. 25, 2009. The Jets rushed 54 times for 316 yards, led by Shonn Greene’s career-high 144 and two touchdowns.
2. Oakland defensive end Richard Seymour has 6.5 career sacks against the Jets.
3. New York wide receiver Derrick Mason needs 83 receiving yards to become the 18th player to reach 12,000 for his career.