Raiders Go For Two Straight Against Jets

NFL News - October 20th, 2009 - Written by John

Suddenly, Mark Sanchez has become a lot less fashionable.

After becoming the first rookie to ever start a season 3-0, the Southern Cal grad has fallen back to earth hard, hitting defenders in the chest, leaving the pocket early and failing to pass for a touchdown in two of the last three games. He has eight interceptions during that span.

And after the Oakland Raiders pulled off the stunner of Week Six, beating the NFC East co-leader Philadelphia Eagles, all the sudden the Jets don't seem like a lock to win in Week Seven.

No, oddsmakers rarely fall to sudden trends and are still looking at the bigger picture, labeling the Raiders underdogs this week. But they aren't double-digit dogs for the first time in three weeks and finally have something to build on. BetUS is giving them six points at home against the Jets. The over/under for the game is 35 due to the fact the Raiders haven't scored more than 13 points since the opener and the Jets have only done it twice. Oakland has accumulated all of 42 points over their last five games and are only behind the St. Louis Rams for lowest season total.

JaMarcus Russell has been a project all season, to put it lightly, with a rating of 51.9. He has thrown four more interceptions than touchdowns and fumbling at least once in nearly every game. He somehow managed to put together a watchable game last week against the Eagles, throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown.

A big chunk of that was delivered by the sheer will of tight end Zach Miller, who took a 20 yard pass and ran it 86 yards to the house, shedding three tacklers along the path. At the low point of the season, Russell's completion percentage was 29 against the Chiefs, but has steadily improved since, connecting on 17 of his 28 passes last week.

No one back has 200 yards rushing this season, but three have over 130. That variation has enabled their runners to stay fresh. It was enough to run for 116 against the Eagles. Justin Fargas had the bulk of the carries, recording a season-high 87 yards. The Raiders defense was stifling, sacking Donovan McNabb six times while knocking him down another eight times.

The New York Jets, meanwhile, are reeling after starting the season a perfect 3-0. They lost a thriller to Miami on Monday Night Football two weeks ago and had were punched in the gut last week with a loss to Buffalo. Sanchez was picked off five times and fumbled in a miserable day in which the Jets had multiple opportunities to win it in regulation and overtime.

It spoiled a career day by Thomas Jones, who set a Jets record with 210 rushing yards. He broke off multiple runs of 10 yards or more, including a game-long 71 yarder down the sideline.To learn more about the games going on during this week check out our Week 7 Game Previews.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/nfl-news/