Jets' unbelievable offensive woes continue as they lose to the Raiders

This past week, New York head coach Robert Saleh chided Zach Wilson's critics, saying it was "lazy" to blame all of the Jets' offensive issues on the quarterback.

Perhaps. But it sure would be a different world if the Jets had average QB play.

Wilson's interception with 1:14 left, when he threw a pass that Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane read easily and picked off, finished the Jets' best chance to pull out a win late in the game. A desperate drive at the end fell short.

New York's defense did everything it could to win. The offense couldn't do anything.

The Jets have a better team, overall, than the Raiders. They definitely have a much better defense, one of the best in the NFL, in fact, and offensive stars like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. The Raiders are starting fourth-round rookie Aidan O'Connell at quarterback. And the Raiders beat the Jets 16-12 on Sunday night. Once the Raiders scored the first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter the game seemed over, because it seems impossible for the Jets to score a TD.

The game ended with the Jets' 36th straight possession without a touchdown. That's astonishing.

Was it all Wilson's fault Sunday night? No. But he also didn't help anything either. He hasn't since four plays into the season, when Aaron Rodgers went down with an Achilles tendon injury and took the Jets' offense with him.

Both teams struggle to score

Wilson had a nice run down the sideline in the second quarter and it looked like he scored a touchdown. The moment a replay showed that he barely stepped out of bounds at the 3-yard line, everyone should have known the Jets weren't ending that possession with a touchdown. And they didn't. They moved backward with penalties and settled for a field goal.

That's the 2023 Jets. Offensively challenged doesn't begin to describe them.

But they have an excellent defense. The Jets kicked three field goals in the first half and allowed only two, and led 9-6 at halftime. It might not have been the Sunday night game anyone wanted, but it's not like it was a surprise. The NFL decided to not flex out the game Sunday night, and a zero-touchdown first half was what the league should have expected. It might have been an unwatchable game, but at least the league had the New York market watching.

Saleh has been overly protective of Wilson through the season, and this past week he scolded everyone who wanted to blame only the quarterback for the Jets' offensive problems. He's right that it's more than just Wilson. But for another season, we're left to wonder what the Jets would look like with competent quarterback play.

Finally, a touchdown

The teams did nothing but punt for most of the third quarter. There were no points scored until late in the quarter when the Raiders kicked another field goal and tied the game, 9-9.

Finally there was a touchdown, shortly into the fourth quarter. Josh Jacobs broke a 40-yard run to get the Raiders into the red zone. Then rookie tight end Michael Mayer made a great catch for a 7-yard touchdown. Finally, someone was in the end zone.

At that point the Jets had gone 33 straight possessions without a TD. They made it 34 on the next drive, though they got a field goal. The Raiders looked like they were putting the game away on their next drive, but Jacobs lost a fumble in Jets territory.

There weren't going to be many more chances to get a touchdown, and the Jets started that drive well. They got into Raiders territory. The Jets converted some third downs, including one on a juggling catch by Garrett Wilson at the two-minute warning. Then Zach Wilson telegraphed a pass over the middle that Spillane broke on and intercepted.

And after all of that, the Jets' defense came through yet again. It forced the three-and-out New York needed. The Jets got a long pass into Raiders territory but for some reason the officials didn't stop the clock on New York's final timeout until 13 seconds remained, after a few seconds were wasted. A Hail Mary on the final play was batted down.

The Raiders have two straight wins after firing head coach Josh McDaniels. They're battling hard for interim head coach Antonio Pierce. The Jets are fighting hard, too. They just can't move the ball or score. That was the problem last season, and the Jets missed the playoffs because their defense couldn't do enough to carry the offense.

The same thing seems to be happening this season. The Jets did all they could to fix the offense by acquiring Rodgers, got really unlucky when he got hurt and now they're stuck.