“With seven seconds left, I couldn’t believe they all-out blitzed us. But as soon as I saw it, I was thankful.”
That was Derek Carr after the Raiders managed an improbable win in the final seconds against the Jets. And he’s not alone.
It seems the general consensus among NFL folks is that the Jets threw this game against the Raiders.
More on that in a minute, but let’s first go back a bit and set the scene.
With the Raiders down 28-24, in need of a touchdown, they set up in 4th and three at the 9-yard-line with 1:49 remaining. Derek Carr dropped back and quickly threw off his back foot toward the end zone and his pass fell short of Nelson Agholor to turn the ball over on downs.
The Jets got the ball with 1:37 and all they needed was a first down to ice it. Three straight runs garnered five yards, and they punted after taking a little over a minute off the clock and forcing the Raiders to use both of their timeouts.
The Raiders got the ball at their own 39-yard-line with 35 seconds. A 15-yard pass to Darren Waller got some of that, but it was over the middle, so Carr had to run up and spike it.
With 19 seconds left, Nelson Agholor went on a go route right up the middle and got open for the score, but Carr overthrew it. That set up third and ten from the 46 with 13 seconds left.
Protecting the end zone was the one and only priority for the Jets. And that’s exactly what they did not do. Henry Ruggs III beat his man up the left sideline and was wide open for the score. And this time Carr found his open receiver for the score and the win.
To Carr’s stunned surprise, the Jets blitzed, leaving no one deep, like they were daring the Raiders to throw for the end zone and beat them. Hard to think it was anything but that.
Cover 0 has to be a tank call here. Just no other explanation. https://t.co/lB87g60joi
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 6, 2020
Henry Ruggs III also said he was surprised the Jets left no help over the top.
“We were kind of surprised that they brought the house like that and not to drop everybody back,” said Ruggs. “But you kind of know that defenders are going to play soft and keep it in front of them, so once I made the inside move to make him think it was an inside route, he flipped his hips and from there I just had to use my speed to make a play.”
I'm still amazed that the Jets put rookie corner Lamar Jackson, who ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at the combine, on HENRY RUGGS III in man coverage with no safety help with the game on the line.
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 6, 2020
Jets safety Marcus Maye was not holding back in the postgame, either, calling out the play call that removed him from deep responsibilities so he couldn’t try and keep the score from happening.
Marcus Maye with some criticism of Gregg Williams' call that led to the go-ahead TD by the Raiders:
"That situation, just has to be a better call. We gotta execute, but you gotta help us out at the same time" pic.twitter.com/pX9o8lqTO8
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) December 6, 2020
If you’re wondering if this call by Gregg Williams is in any way common, it’s not. And for good reason.
The Jets are the only team to send 8+ pass rushers on a play in the last 30 seconds of a game this season.#LVvsNYJ | #TakeFlight
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 6, 2020
The prevailing conspiracy theory, if you will, is that the call came down from up high to throw this game as the Jets are in full on Tank for Trevor (Lawrence) mode.
The Jets defensive coordinator was directed to lose this game. That’s the only explanation.
The Jets ran Cover 0 with a spy on Derek Carr at the 50 yard line while up by 4 with 13 seconds left
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) December 6, 2020
Going Cover 0 from midfield with five seconds left when they were up 4 and LVR had no timeouts is truly one of the worst defensive play calls I’ve ever seen. There is no way they called that thinking it was genuinely the right play call. No way. I’m going full conspiracy theory.
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) December 6, 2020
Whether you subscribe to this conspiracy theory or not, it’s weird to think of these Raiders ever being in a position in which they had no business winning a game against an 0-11 team. But that’s where we are, and it’s not a good place to be. Especially a week after getting pummeled 43-6 by the 3-7 Falcons.
Had the Raiders lost to the Jets, it would be considerably more devastating. But you have to wonder that if the Jets had actually played the end of this game like they wanted to win, the Raiders would have given the Jets their first win of the season and the Raiders their third straight loss to fall to a .500 record. Even in a win, this shouldn’t sit well with the Raiders as they continue an attempt to make a playoff run.
[lawrence-newsletter]