Jets @ Raiders
Final Score: Raiders 16, Jets 12
Writer: Matthew Bevins (@MattBQBList on Twitter)
The Raiders and Jets face off on Sunday night, both seemingly coming towards a crossroads in this week’s version of “What Would You Like to Be When You Grow Up?” The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels in the middle of the night late last week (was it Sunday, was it Monday?), opting to give the reins of the team over to Antonio Pierce. The Jets, proverbially the JETS, have started to show signs of finding something in the reclamation project, Zack Wilson.
Three Up
- Punter’s legs- The youth was on display at quarterback, and while this game wasn’t the worst SNF even this year, one thing is for sure…there was a lot of punting in this game.
- Garrett Wilson- Wilson is finally becoming the twinkle in Zack Wilson’s eye, as he’s receiving targets and first looks on readouts.
- Michael Mayer- Holy moly, that receiving touchdown for Mayer was a thing of beauty. A pass that looked like a back-of-the-endzone throwaway was ripped out of the air, showcasing him to the primetime NFL crowd.
MICHAEL MAYER FOR THE LEAD!!!#NYJvsLV | ? NBC pic.twitter.com/N9J8WbwIBC
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 13, 2023
Three Down
- Aidan O’Connell- I know he wasn’t a top-flight draft pick this past offseason, and his being on the field is more of a slight against Jimmy G than it is a vote of confidence for him, but this guy has major “Farva from Super Troopers” vibes, and he seems to have only mastered the 3 and out.
- Breece Hall- I don’t blame him for this line in Three Down, as it’s not entirely his fault, this was less on performance and more on being devoid of opportunity in this game. There are two immense talents in the Jets offense, and one was not utilized properly tonight.
- Jakobi Meyers- Meyers is somehow disappearing from the Raiders gameplans, and it’s a mild worry that his value is tied directly to Jimmy. While Aidan wasn’t a valuable quarterback tonight, his usual intriguing skill set includes the ability to air out some passes (which would help Davante far more than Jakobi).
New York Jets
Quarterback
Zack Wilson: 23/37, 263 yards, 1 INT | 4 carries, 54 yards
Wilson, not entirely by fault of his own, has become a running joke for football fans as the ultimate “Why is he here?” situation. There are starting to be some signs of life, however. As a Patriots fan (go ahead, throw your tomatoes), I have had the displeasure of watching a lot of Wilson’s snaps, and even I can admit that maybe we’re starting to see something out of this fellow. First drive of the game, Wilson zipped off two fireballs past the line to hit Garrett Wilson and Xavier Gipson. No hyperbole, these were the type of throws that vaulted Wilson up draft boards coming out of BYU. However, there’s not much consistency, and he’ll lose footing numerous times through his games, or even from drive to drive.
Notes
- Wilson isn’t ever looking like he’ll be the upside quarterback he was drafted to be, but we’re starting to see some signs of a serviceable backup fantasy quarterback if he can continue to find Garrett Wilson and lean on Breece Hall to help draw back some pressure. Wilson needs time behind center and a lack of pressure to find any sort of pattern on his reads.
Running Back
Breece Hall: 13 carries, 28 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 47 yards
Breece Hall was arguably the most dynamic player in this SNF matchup, an amazing compliment given that Garrett Wilson lines up on the same side of his field, and while Davante Adams lines up across the field in tonight’s game. Hall had plenty of carries, but there wasn’t much gained from them. Through a half of the game, he had averaged just over 2 yards a carry. Very strange to see those sorts of numbers from someone like Hall, who can gobble up yards on a clip. Hall was not economical and left this game with some wasted rushing plays, and an amazing shifty receiving play.
Dalvin Cook: 4 carries, 26 yards | 1 target, 0 receptions
Cook looked solid in his short amount of snaps tonight, but he’s going to be relatively worthless unless something happens to Breece.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Garrett Wilson: 14 targets, 8 receptions, 93 yards
Garrett Wilson was the belle of the ball in a lot of fantasy drafts this offseason, as his talent level had matched with a trade to get Aaron Rodgers as the signal caller in New York. Garrett Wilson’s ceiling will not be found with Zack at the helm, unfortunately. Wilson saw some early targets but didn’t see much of anything for an entire second half. The Raiders defense seemed to start to get loose in the second half, and Zack Wilson saw himself scrambling out of pocket to avoid the Raiders rush.
Notes
- G. Wilson was on and off the field for a couple of drives, being seen by the trainers, making sure he was able to get back on the field without worry. Wilson, with a relatively healthy football track record, has had a couple of worrisome bouts with injuries. I hope he can stay on the field the rest of the season and work towards his ceiling of production.
Tyler Conklin: 7 targets, 7 receptions,70 yards
Tyler Conklin is an interesting tight-end option, as he is theoretically the #2 target for Z. Wilson behind center. Conklin big-bodied his way to two receptions, patrolling the center of the field, and in short jump-ball situations.
Xavier Gipson: 2 targets, 1 reception, 24 yards
Xavier Gipson is an interesting pick from the Jets and has shown over the past few weeks that he’s finding the eye of the coaching staff, but we may not get too much of him and his targets could be few and far between. He’s a fun watch, as he’s dynamic and able to zip around the field. We may just need to wait for a serviceable quarterback again.
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback
Aidan O’Connell: 16/27, 153 Yards, 1 TD | 2 carries, 3 yards
O’Connell, I really wanted to like you, but there’s so much to be found here that has not yet been unsurfaced. Errant throwouts, wasted passes, and inability to go through his reads littered this game. O’Connell is going to get the rest of the season to start, as the Raiders need to find out who they are, and Jimmy is probably not the guy they want to build around. So, there may be value for O’Connell, but it’s uncertain if there’s enough time left in this season for him to figure it out. O’Connell was entirely unproductive in the second half, and found himself saved by a short field and a Michael Mayer bananas catch.
Running Back
Josh Jacobs: 27 carries, 116 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
- Josh Jacobs started the game relatively quietly but ended up reeling off some yardage to round out the third quarter. Jacobs is able to break the line quickly and chew up yardage, and this was shown again tonight. While in the first half, he was noticeably quiet, he eclipsed 100 yards on the back of roughly 3 drives in this game.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Davante Adams: 13 targets, 6 receptions, 86 yards
Davante Adams came over to the Raiders to showcase that he was more than just cannon fodder to Aaron Rodgers his entire career, but ultimately his ceiling this year is entirely capped due to quarterback play.
Notes
- Adams is going to hinge completely on O’Connell and his ability to become more economical. Adams received target after target tonight, but accuracy caused less than half of those to be caught.
Jakobi Meyers: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
Meyers, just two weeks removed from a 13-target outing, has clearly become the third weapon in an offense built around Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs. Meyers, who made a very solid career out of being open in the middle of the field with very solid hands, may not be able to fulfill that task for the remainder of this season.
Michael Mayer: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards
When all the dust settles, the names at tight end that may have come out of this past year’s draft may be pretty interesting to behold. While Sam LaPorta is having a season, Michael Mayer was the prized name at the position coming out of the draft. Mayer wasn’t really showcased much for the first half of the Raiders’ season, as they looked to build their offense around their two combos of Adams and Jacobs. Mayer may have just steamrolled his way into the conversation, however, off the first touchdown pass he inhaled over the defenseman to put the Raiders up.