Raiders Week 10 Preview vs. Jets

This week 10 preview will by far be the most hopeful of the entire season.

Raiders Week 10 Preview vs. Jets

That is because, under new head coach Antonio Pierce, the Las Vegas Raiders have a new energy. They have a new attitude and last week against the New York Giants, seemingly came together in a way they hadn’t since 2021.

The team even set a new standard by having the practice squad players dress out and support the team on the sidelines. That is unheard of in NFL teams. Those guys take a beating every week for almost no pay with the hope that they’ll have a chance to get called up to play in games.

They never get to dress out and support the team on the sidelines during games. This is a huge example of the camaraderie and idea of family that Pierce is now promoting as head coach.

With this new energy, the Raiders crushed the New York Giants 30-6 last week. The Raiders offense clicked on all cylinders and scored 20 points for the first time this season. The running game as a team eclipsed 100 yards for the first time this season, and Aidan O’Connell at quarterback broke the streak of 15 consecutive games with a turnover.

It should also be noted that with the hiring of Antonio Pierce and new interim general manager Champ Kelly, the Las Vegas Raiders continue their trailblazing ways. Along with Team President Sandra Douglass Morgan, the Raiders boast the only Black female Team President(first ever in NFL history), Black Head Coach, and Black General Manager pairing in the league. From an organization that boasts so many groundbreaking feats, this should come as no surprise.

This week 10 preview has the Raiders taking that momentum into a primetime showdown on Sunday Night Football against the New York Jets.

The Jets come into this game like a wounded animal. They’re still extremely dangerous because of their defense, but their offense has been effectively neutered this season. This offense is a big reason why on Monday Night Football, the team was crushed by the Los Angeles Chargers in New Jersey by a score of 27-6.

For anybody who doesn’t know the story, the Jets spent a lot to get 39-year-old future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and ended up being featured on the hit HBO show “Hard Knocks” to hype up their season during the preseason. Then immediately, Rodgers tore his Achilles and has been furiously rehabbing to get back onto the field.

The Jets have Zach Wilson at quarterback and the results on offense have not been positive. Running back Breece Hall has been a bright spot as he was last year, but the offense has not produced a lot of great results.

The defense has been stout and has been carrying the team to all of their wins coming into this week 10 preview. They’re the strength of this Jets team and they are a challenge that the Raiders will have to overcome.

Let’s look at this week 10 preview and see what the Raiders will have to deal with.

Matchups to Watch

Can the Raiders Offense Maintain their Momentum vs. Jets D?

The Raiders offense turned in their best performance by far of the entire season against a resilient New York Giants defense that had just held down 3 straight offenses.

Josh Jacobs was unleashed for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Aidan O’Connell showed up and tuned out a fine performance. He became the first Raiders quarterback since Derek Carr 15 games ago to not turn over the football. He had 3 fumbles and an interception in his first start and suffice to say that the sequel performance was much better than the debut.

“AOC” had his shining moment when he hit wide receiver and fellow rookie Tre Tucker on a deep bomb in the second half which showcased that the Raiders offense might finally start completing deep shots down the field. The Raiders currently had the 32nd-ranked deep passing offense in the league and the least amount of 20+ yard passes in the league.

All of this is fine and great, but the team is running up against a tough unit in the Jets defense. Currently, the Jets defense is ranked 9th in total yards allowed per game. They’re 3rd in pass defense and 8th in scoring defense. They’re a tough unit.

Looking at this week 10 preview, the Raiders are going to have to run the ball down the Jets throat. The Jets have a tough passing defense, but they’re the 30th-ranking run defense. You have Josh Jacobs, the 2022 NFL leading rusher. Use him and grind out a win.

“AOC” is a rookie quarterback and while he has potential it is better to keep the pressure off of him. For this week 10 preview, look at the Raiders winning the game by running the ball aggressively against the Jets.

A huge matchup to watch is going to be Sauce Gardner against Davante Adams. It’s a matchup between arguably the best cornerback in the league against the best wide receiver in the league. Football fans everywhere should be hyped to see this matchup.

Raiders Pass Rush vs. Vulnerable Jets Offense

The Raiders defense has entered a level they haven’t seen in a long time. They recorded 8 sacks last week, the most that they have had in any game since 2010.

The pass rush is led of course by Maxx Crosby, my current pick for Defensive Player of the Year. Crosby has 9 sacks coming into this week 10 preview. The pass rush is a huge reason why also coming into this week 10 preview, the Raiders defense is currently the 8th-ranked pass defense in terms of yards allowed.

Looking at this week 10 preview, look to “Mad Maxx” to lead the charge and get to Zach Wilson. Wilson has been an extremely erratic quarterback and if you can get the pressure to him, he will crumble.

The Raiders pass rush will be the key on Sunday. They will have to be the one to lead the charge and they can force the Jets offense into doing exactly what the Chargers defense just forced them to do on Monday, and that’s essentially shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly.

On top of that, the Jets don’t exactly boast a wonderful offensive line. One of the main storylines in “Hard Knocks” was the struggling offensive line. They never made any improvements to it, and its struggles were a contributing factor to Rodgers getting injured right away. The Raiders need to break through that offensive line and get pressure on the pocket all day.

Raiders Secondary vs. Zach Wilson

Zach Wilson turns over the football at an alarming rate for a quarterback who was drafted in the top 3 of their draft class. Simply put, he throws a lot of interceptions.

The Raiders secondary picked off the New York Giants backup quarterback(now starter) Tommy DeVito twice on Sunday and almost had a third on his predecessor Daniel Jones in the 1st quarter before he exited with an injury.

The Raiders secondary has played extremely well this season. As stated above, the Raiders enter this week 10 preview with the 8th-ranked passing defense in the NFL this season and they have a great chance to keep that rolling against the Jets.

Amik Robertson, Nate Hobbs, Jaqorian Bennett, and Marcus Peters all have a chance to get some interceptions against a turnover-happy Jets offense. This is their opportunity to build up their confidence and get ready because the next 2 passing offenses they’ll be facing will be Miami and Kansas City. Tua and Patrick Mahomes are much better quarterbacks than Zach Wilson.

Prediction

Looking at this week 10 preview, I like this matchup for the Raiders.

It has all the recipes to be a gritty, tough matchup. It has the potential to be an ugly primetime game that will cause all the people on social media to complain about why they had to watch this game.

But overall, I think the Raiders rushing attack and defense is going to be too much for the Jets. I don’t trust Zach Wilson as the quarterback against any NFL team. He’s got no confidence as a player and his erratic play is going to end the Jets promising season, even if Aaron Rodgers wants to become the first athlete to tear an Achilles tendon and return in the same season.

Look for a tough Raiders win on the road in this week 10 preview.

Final Score

Raiders 21 Jets 6

see also: Raiders Week 9 Slay and Bomb