Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Chris Johnson (21) scores a touchdown past Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson (24) during the second quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last Sunday’s game against New York was a tough one. The Jets defense brought the heat for rookie starting QB Derek Carr. Carr was under pressure on 16 of his 34 passing snaps. His completion percentage dropped significantly from 72.2% on no pressure plays to 50% when under pressure per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Carr was able to occasionally build a drive on short passes, especially short crossing routes, but it only converted into points twice – once early in the game on a nice pass to Streater, and once at the end with an amazing catch by James Jones.

The run game didn’t fare well at all. New York’s defense managed to hold Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden to less than 30 yards combined on 13 total carries. The Oakland offensive line that is supposed to have run-blocking among its strengths often looks lost and clearly overpowered against New York’s front seven. Bottom line about the run game: everything needs to be better.

Still, the game was only decided by 5 points. As we get into breaking down the game tape we’ll look at some things the Raiders did well, along with what they need to improve upon if they are to have any shot at being competitive in the AFC West rankings. Today we’ll focus on the passing game on offense and see where Oakland can improve.

Offense

Oakland had a clear strategy when it came to their offensive game plan: Throw the short, easy, low risk passes that will keep rookie QB Derek Carr comfortable and allow the offense march their way into scoring position while utilizing the run game to keep the New York defense honest with runs up the middle and screens when the pass rush is overly aggressive. While in theory it was an appropriate strategy, in practice it suffered from abysmal blocking and poor execution.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

On the TD pass in the first quarter, Oakland comes out in 11 Personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs), and lines up Rod Streater on the inside of the trips look on the left side of the field with TE Mychal Rivera in the slot and James Jones outside. New York plays a Cover 3 (Corner, Safety, Corner split deep field into thirds) and blitzes their slot defender with linebacker help shifting outside to fill in the underneath zone. This plays right into Oakland’s hands as Carr gets a quick pass out to Streater on bubble screen action giving the Raiders’ WRs a numbers advantage against the left CB and the shifting LB. With great blocking from Jones and Rivera, Streater only has Jets safety Dawan Landry to beat, who takes a poor angle and ends up having to correct just in time to watch Streater trot into the end zone.