David Clowney, 87, of the New York Jets makes it 31-0 over the Oakland Raiders. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
New York scored early and often against the Raiders in a 38–0 victory, starting with a four-play, four-yard drive capped off by a one-yard rushing touchdown by running back Thomas Jones.
Linebacker Calvin Pace’s sack caused Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell to fumble on the first play from scrimmage to set up the drive. Defensive end Marques Douglas recovered the loose ball on the four-yard line. Russell would be replaced by Bruce Gradkowski in the second quarter, who wasn’t much better.
The defense caused four turnovers on the day. Two came from fumbles and two from interceptions.
Along with the ball-hawking defense, it was the run game that carried New York to victory.
The Jets had 316 yards on the ground—the team’s second consecutive 300-plus yard performance.
“My offensive line did a really good job blocking today like they do every week,” Jones said. “We had a lot of eight, nine guys in the box and they were able to maintain their blocks and blow guys off the ball and give us some cracks to run through.”
Rookie running back Shonn Greene had a breakout game with a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Jones added 121 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
After a horrific performance last week, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez bounced back with a solid performance against Oakland (2–5). The win snapped a three-game losing streak for New York as they improved to 4–3.
Sanchez went 9–15 for 143 yards with a touchdown and most importantly, no interceptions. He also scored a rushing touchdown.
“Sanchez was great,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “He was just smart with the football. I think sometimes he could have put the ball on a receiver, but he was making sure the ball wasn’t intercepted. It was great to see him respond.”
Early in the first quarter, running back Leon Washington went down with a leg injury. He broke his fibula on the play and will remain in Oakland with team doctors, according to Ryan.
“We feel terrible about the injury to Leon,” Ryan said. “It’s a pretty severe injury. We expect a good outcome. Hopefully he’ll be rejoining us sooner rather than later.”
Washington's injury turned out to be a season-ender.
Matt Sugam also writes for The Daily Targum at Rutgers University.
