McFadden leads Raiders past Jets, 34-24
The Jets came into their game only allowing one rusher in the last 25 games to rush for 100 yards or more; it is now two in the last 26 games. Raiders running back Darren McFadden broke the 100-yard mark in a big way, gashing the Jets defense for 171 yards and two touchdowns on only 19 carries.
The Raider defense was also able to buckle down when it was needed the most, a pleasant change from last week’s loss when they gave up five consecutive touchdown drives to the Bills in the second half.
The Raiders were able to get to Rex Ryan’s Jets defense early by driving down the field for an opening-drive touchdown. Following one pass to rookie wide receiver Denarius Moore, quarterback Jason Campbell went right back to him deep down the right sideline to draw a pass interference penalty on Jets corner back Antonio Cromartie.
Tight end Kevin Boss hauls in one of his two pass receptions
With the ball on the Jets 30-yard line, Campbell threw a strike to tight end Kevin Boss who was tackled on the 2-yard line. Boss had missed the first two weeks due to a knee injury he suffered in the preseason. McFadden then ran to the right pylon to score and give the Raiders the 7-0 lead just 2:24 into the game.
After giving up a quick 40 yards on the first two Jets offensive plays, the Raiders defense was able to hold strong and force a Jets punt from the Oakland 41-yard line.
Oakland was unable to take advantage of a nine-yard gain on first down, and was forced to punt the ball back to the Jets on their own 29-yard line.
After a holding penalty, the Raiders gave up a big play to a familiar foe. On 2nd and 14 Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez threw a screen out to the left to running back LaDanian Tomlinson, who scampered 74 yards to the Raiders one yard line before being pushed out of bounds. Sanchez then scored the Jets’ first touchdown when he rolled out to his right and dove into the end zone.
The Raiders defense made its first big play of the game after Jets punt returner Jeremy Kerley returned a Shane Lechler punt 53 yards back to the Oakland 24-yard line. On the first play, Sanchez attempted to squeeze a ball in to wide receiver Derrick Mason but the ball was picked off by Raiders safety Tyvon Branch.
The Jets were still able to take the lead later with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tomlinson who beat linebacker Quentin Groves to get to the end zone. The Jets would extend the lead to 17-7 on a Nick Folk field goal with 10:01 remaining in the first half.
But it didn’t take long for the Raiders to get back into the game. On 1st and 10 from their own 21, McFadden got nice blocking to get to the edge and run for a 70-yard touchdown to get the Raider Nation back on their feet. The touchdown was the longest touchdown run of McFadden’s career.
Down 17-14 with just 1:44 left in the first half, Campbell orchestrated a quick drive that allowed a Sebastian Janikowski 54-yard field goal that tied the game at 17-17 going into halftime. Janikowski missed a 56-yard attempt wide right earlier in the quarter.
McFadden pump-fakes, then tucks the ball for a 27-yard gain
Raiders head coach Hue Jackson would use a couple of trick plays to score first in the second half and retake the lead. On 1st and 10 from the 50-yard line, Campbell handed the ball off to McFadden who took it right and looked to pass. With nothing open, McFadden tucked the ball, pump faked, and continued to run it to the left side for 27 yards to the Jets 23-yard line.
Jackson used some more trickery on the very next play with a reverse to Moore who avoided a tackler in the backfield and turned it up-field for a 23-yard touchdown that gave the Raiders a 24-17 lead with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cromartie muffed the ball and Raiders rookie Taiwan Jones recovered the ball on the Jets 13-yard line. Following a 12-yard rush by McFadden, running back Michael Bush punched the ball into the end zone to give the Raiders a 14-point lead with a little over a quarter of play remaining.
The Jets would score their only points in the second half on a drive where the Jets traveled 93 yards on 10 plays in only three minutes. On the Raiders 16-yard line, Sanchez was able to find newly acquired wide receiver Plaxico Burress in the end zone to bring the Raiders lead to just seven.
With 5:33 remaining, Campbell was able to answer and re-give the Raiders a two-score lead. On 2nd and 7 from his own 40-yard line, Campbell rolled out left and threw a perfect ball to Bush to the Jets 32-yard line. There, Janikowski hit his second field goal of the game to give the Raiders a 34-24 lead with just 2:37 remaining.
Following a 50-yard kickoff return by Jet Joe McKnight, the Jets would drive down to the Raiders 2-yard line for a 4th and 2 with less than a minute left to play. Sanchez would look like he rushed the ball in for a touchdown, but an official replay overruled the call and said he was down just short of the goal line to turn the ball over on downs.
Rookie wide receiver Denarius Moore rushes for a 23-yard touchdown on a reverse
There, Campbell would take a knee following a quarterback sneak to run the clock out for the 34-24 victory.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez finished with a career-high 369 yards on 27/43 passing. The Jets finished with 100 yards rushing on 25 carries by the team.
Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell finished 18/27 for 156 yards but had no turnovers; Boss finished with two catches for 36 yards; Moore and Chaz Schilens each had four receptions, for 34 and 31 yards, respectively; Darrius Heyward-Bey, who was mostly covered by Jets corner back Darrelle Revis, finished with only one reception for five yards.
The Raiders will look to give the home crowd another victory when they take on the New England Patriots on Oct. 2 at 1:15 p.m.
Oakland Raiders punter Shane Lechler was selected for the Associated Press All-Pro team.