Raiders vs. Jets: Las Vegas Looks to End a Four-Game Skid at MetLife on Sunday
The Raiders (3-4) visit the Jets (2-5) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday at 10 a.m. Las Vegas time on FOX — a meeting of two teams that have spent a month losing close games, with Kirk Cousins and Geno Smith both playing at a high level.
The Las Vegas Raiders play the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, with kickoff at 1 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. in Las Vegas) on FOX, according to the Jets' official game preview and the Sportradar schedule read this cycle. Las Vegas opened the first season under head coach Klint Kubiak 3-0 and has lost four straight since, including three-point home losses to the Chiefs in Week 4 and the Bills in Week 6. The Jets are 2-5 after a 28-25 loss to Miami last Sunday and have lost four one-possession games.
The matchup pairs two productive quarterbacks. Kirk Cousins leads the NFL with 16 touchdown passes and has thrown for 1,877 yards, third in the league, while keeping the seat warm for No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, the Jets' preview noted. Geno Smith, facing his former team, has completed 70 percent of his passes — third in the NFL — with a 105.2 passer rating, 10 touchdown passes and two interceptions. Cousins' top targets have been tight end Brock Bowers, with 455 yards and three touchdowns on 34 catches in five games, and wide receiver Tre Tucker, whose 474 receiving yards and four scores lead the team.
Where Las Vegas has struggled is on the ground and on defense. The Raiders rank 31st in rushing at 74.7 yards a game, and second-year back Ashton Jeanty is averaging 3.1 yards a carry with 328 yards and one touchdown, while the defense is allowing 28.1 points a game. New York's pass defense, allowing 187.7 passing yards a game, is the strength the Raiders' sixth-ranked scoring offense — 26.1 points a game — has to solve. DraftKings Network made the Jets a 1.5-point home favorite with a total of 45.5.
