Raiders get back on track, escape New York with 38-33 victory

EAST RUTHERFORD — The Raiders defense couldn't stop anybody, the Jets were running the ball at will, and another disappointing afternoon seemed to be taking shape.

However, the Raiders did something different on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

They fought back.

Behind another impressive performance from Kirk Cousins, two touchdown catches from Brock Bowers and a 53-yard field goal from Matt Gay that required more than a little faith from coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders defeated the New York Jets 38-33 to snap a four-game losing streak and get back to .500.

It wasn't pretty. And it certainly wasn't the kind of performance that should have anybody making playoff reservations.

But it was a reminder that the Raiders who started the season 3-0 might be closer to the real version of this team than the one that spent the past month losing games.

For a franchise that went 3-14 a year ago, that is no small thing.

The Raiders had spent the previous four games watching the optimism from their fast start slowly disappear. The loss to Kansas City had been particularly frustrating, with Kubiak's aggressive decisions contributing to a game that slipped away. Three more losses followed, and suddenly the early-season vibe shift was starting to feel a little less permanent.

Sunday didn't erase those losses. It did offer some evidence that the Raiders hadn't forgotten how to win.

And fittingly, it came with another Kubiak gamble.

With the Raiders leading 35-33 in the final minute and facing a long field goal attempt, Kubiak had a decision to make. He could punt and try to pin the Jets deep in their own territory, forcing former Raiders quarterback Geno Smith to lead a long drive into field goal range with little time remaining.

Or he could send Gay out for a 53-yard field goal attempt, knowing a miss would give New York a much easier drive to win with a field goal of its own.

Kubiak chose to trust his kicker.

Gay delivered, splitting the uprights to extend the Raiders' lead to 38-33 with 27 seconds remaining.

It was exactly the kind of decision that has come to define Kubiak's first season. He isn't interested in coaching scared. He believes in his players, and he has shown a willingness to put games in their hands.

That philosophy has produced some uncomfortable moments. Against the Chiefs, Kubiak took a successful field goal off the board to go for it on fourth down and came away empty. His late-game onside kick decision in that loss also raised questions about his situational judgment.

Against the Jets, the gamble worked.

That doesn't automatically make every aggressive decision the right one. There is still a difference between confidence and recklessness, and Kubiak is learning where that line falls as a first-year head coach.

But there is also something refreshing about a Raiders coach who believes his team can make the play instead of simply hoping the opponent makes a mistake.

Sunday, Gay rewarded that belief.

Of course, the Raiders still had to survive one final scare.

Smith moved the Jets into striking distance, helped by a 15-yard completion to Garrett Wilson and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jeremy Chinn. Suddenly, New York had the ball at the Raiders' 35-yard line with enough time for one final shot.

Smith launched a pass toward the end zone.

Chinn, the same player whose penalty had helped put the Jets in position, made a leaping, toe-tapping interception to end the game.

It was an appropriate finish for an afternoon in which the Raiders made enough mistakes to lose but enough plays to win.

And nobody made more of those plays than Cousins.

The 38-year-old quarterback completed 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the third quarter, then celebrated by flapping his elbow in a move he later called his "wellness celebration," a tribute to the training staff that helps keep him on the field.

The celebration was unusual. The performance was becoming familiar.

Cousins looked like the quarterback who helped the Raiders win their first three games, distributing the ball efficiently, keeping the offense moving and showing the composure that comes from nearly two decades of professional football.

He opened the Raiders' scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Bowers in the first quarter. He found Bowers again from two yards out to open the second half, cutting New York's lead to 23-21.

When the Jets answered with a 21-yard touchdown run by Braelon Allen to push their advantage back to nine, Cousins responded by directing a 65-yard scoring drive and finishing it himself.

Then, with the Raiders trailing 30-28 in the fourth quarter, he led the drive that put them ahead for good.

The biggest play came from Ashton Jeanty, whose role in the running game had been dramatically reduced. Jeanty caught a screen pass, stumbled, regained his balance and raced 45 yards to the Jets' 13-yard line.

Five plays later, Cousins found Jalen Nailor for a 2-yard touchdown and a 35-30 lead.

The Raiders had come all the way back.

"It took everything we had today, but it's great to get a win," Cousins said. "To be .500 in November now and playing meaningful football is important."

That last part is worth remembering.

A year ago, the Raiders were playing out the string long before November arrived. Now they are 4-4, with a veteran quarterback playing some of his best football and a first-year coach trying to build something that lasts.

Bowers continues to be one of the biggest reasons for optimism. He caught seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, giving Cousins a reliable target whenever the offense needed a play.

And there were contributions from players who haven't always been at the center of the offense.

Rookie Mike Washington Jr. carried 25 times for 83 yards, providing a physical presence in the running game. Nailor's go-ahead touchdown was his first as a Raider. And Dylan Laube delivered one of the game's biggest moments with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter, the Raiders' first kickoff return score since Jacoby Ford in 2011.

Laube's return came immediately after the Jets had taken a 13-7 lead and prevented New York from building early momentum.

The Raiders needed every bit of it because their defense spent much of the first half looking like it had forgotten how to tackle.

The Jets scored on their first six possessions. Allen rushed for 121 yards before halftime and finished with 147. Smith threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns, repeatedly finding openings in a secondary that lost cornerback Darien Porter to a groin injury on the first defensive play.

New York led 23-14 at halftime and 30-21 midway through the third quarter.

Those are not numbers that suggest a defense has everything figured out.

But the Raiders eventually found a way to get stops.

After allowing six consecutive scoring drives, Las Vegas forced the Jets to punt late in the third quarter. The defense came up with another stop in the fourth, then held New York to a field goal after the Jets reached scoring position.

It wasn't a dominant defensive performance. It was something more modest, and on this particular Sunday, more important.

The Raiders stopped the bleeding long enough for Cousins to take control.

"Our players were resilient. Played four quarters of football," Kubiak said. "It wasn't all pretty but it's not always going to be pretty."

That is the kind of perspective that comes with trying to turn around a franchise accustomed to losing.

The Raiders are not yet a polished team. They still make mistakes that good teams generally avoid. Their defense remains vulnerable to explosive plays, and Kubiak's aggressive approach will continue to invite scrutiny whenever one of his decisions backfires.

But the Raiders are showing something that has been missing for far too long.

They are showing an ability to respond.

The team that opened 3-0 wasn't perfect, either. It won games by making plays in difficult moments, getting contributions from unexpected places and trusting Cousins to keep the offense on schedule.

That team looked familiar Sunday.

The four-game losing streak raised legitimate questions about whether the fast start had been a mirage. Beating a struggling Jets team doesn't answer every one of them, particularly when New York scores 33 points and moves the ball almost at will.

But it does provide an answer to the most important question facing the Raiders after a miserable October.

They still have some fight left.

Kubiak is going to keep gambling. Some of those decisions will make sense. Others will leave people wondering why he didn't take the safer option. That is part of the education of a first-year head coach, and the Raiders will have to live with the results.

On Sunday, the gamble paid off.

More importantly, so did the faith Kubiak has been trying to build in his players.

The Raiders are 4-4. They have already surpassed last season's win total, and they are playing meaningful football in November.

After years of watching this franchise find new ways to lose, that qualifies as progress.

The Raiders aren't all the way back.

But Sunday offered a pretty good reminder that they haven't gone away, either.