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Cousins, Raiders shine during second half of win at Jets
After a winless October, the Las Vegas Raiders are off to an undefeated November.
Earning their first win since Sept. 27, Las Vegas beat the New York Jets, 38-33, Sunday, Nov. 1 from MetLife Stadium. Prior to the victory, the franchise had lost 11 straight contests in November with its last win coming Nov. 12, 2023 against the Jets.
“Our players were very resilient,” head coach Klint Kubiak said. “Played four quarters of football. It wasn’t all pretty but it’s not always going to be pretty, it’s finding a way to win.”
With the win, the Raiders moved to 3-1 on the road this season while improving their overall record to 4-4 on the season. The outcome ends a four-game losing streak for the club.
“I just want to start by thanking the fans, especially in our fourth quarter,” Kubiak said. “The Silver & Black were out, we heard them, they were loud. They supported us pregame, all during the game and especially in that fourth quarter. That was really special.”
As part of back-to-back road games, Las Vegas will now head to San Francisco for its next matchup which is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8 from Levi’s Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m.
“Whether we win or lose it should be the same way,” Kubiak said. “We should treat it the same way and I think our guys know that’s where our heart is when we’re talking to them every week. It’s a hard league and we’ve got to get the problems fixed fast.”
In this most recent game, the Raiders needed a +14 second half en route to the win.
After trailing by nine points at halftime, tight end Brock Bowers made things a little closer with his second touchdown grab of the day. His first snag was a one-hand catch while falling to the turf in the end zone.
Bowers finished the game with 92 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.
“I give the credit to [the tight ends],” Kubiak said. “Brock, [tight ends Michael Mayer, Ian Thomas], [tight end] Carter Runyan on the practice squad and I think you guys have got to know that they have a tremendous coach in [tight ends coach] Luke Steckel.”
That second touchdown by Bowers came on a drive that was largely engineered by the legs of rookie running back Mike Washington Jr., who ended the game with a game-high 25 carries for 83 yards.
Fellow running back Ashton Jeanty carried the ball just two times for nine yards after expressing hope the team could get the rushing game back on track this week. In doing so, he said New York had “a couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle,” while opting not to say specific names.
“[The two carries] was my call,” Kubiak said. “Ashton’s still going to be a big part of our team, he had a huge catch. He’s going to be a huge part of our run game going forward. We just wanted to give Mike a few more opportunities today.”
Kubiak added that his decision had nothing to do with Jeanty’s comments to the media earlier in the week.
Jeanty did make an impact in the passing game with 64 yards on three catches highlighted by a 45-yarder that helped set up a two-yard touchdown catch by receiver Jalen Nailor.
That was part of 14 straight points en route to the comeback win.
“We’ll enjoy the flight home now,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “It was hard-fought as every game in this league is. Jets played well, made it tough on us and we found the inches, found a way but again it was a team win.”
Cousins threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns while extending his NFL-lead in the touchdown department. He did so while going 19-for-26 through the air in addition to rushing for a touchdown.
On the backend of his touchdown run in the third quarter, the 15-year veteran capped his scoring drive with a rare celebration.
“I call that my ‘Wellness Celebration,’” Cousins said. “We do a lot of tissue work here and at my age, it’s especially helpful.”
On the other sideline, former Las Vegas signal caller Geno Smith led the Jets to a fast start. After field goals on their first two possessions, Smith tossed an 18-yard pass into the end zone
At that point, he had 122 yards and that touchdown on 8-for-14 passing.
Smith launched a second touchdown pass later in the second quarter as part of a perfect 5-for-5 on scoring possessions for the visitors in the first half.
Despite that first half performance, New York went 2-for-5 on drives in the second half including its first two punts of the game. Its final possession of the game came to a crashing halt when safety Jeremy Chinn reeled in an interception in the back of the end zone.
After outgaining the home team, 276-97, in the first half, the Jets were in turn outgained by the Raiders in the second half to the tune of 236 yards to 163.
“[Defending the run] is a part of our team that we have to address,” Kubiak said. “We have to continue to find ways to improve that because that’s hurting us. It hurt us in the first half and that’s up to us as coaches to go put our heads together and get it fixed.”
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