National Football League
Oakland 45, N.Y. Jets 20
When: 4:05 PM ET, Sunday, September 17, 2017
Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
Temperature: 70°
Head Official: Jeff Triplette
Attendance: 54729

OAKLAND, Calif. -- It was midway through the third quarter Sunday, and the heavily favored Oakland Raiders owned a slim 21-13 lead over the New York Jets at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Then the Raiders used two big plays to turn a close game into a 45-20 runaway win in their home opener.

Wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson capped Oakland's ensuing drive with a 43-yard touchdown run, and running back Jalen Richard raced 52 yards for a touchdown with 12:49 left to play, putting the Raiders ahead 35-13.

"We just have a lot of weapons," Richard said. "Any day we can explode."

The Raiders (2-0) beat the Jets (0-2) on the ground, rushing for 180 net yards, and through the air.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes to wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who caught six passes for 80 yards. Carr completed 23 of 28 passes for 230 yards with no interceptions or sacks and a 136.6 passer rating.

Running back Marshawn Lynch carried 12 times for 45 yards and scored a 2-yard touchdown in his first home game with the Raiders (2-0), his hometown team.

"We got some playmakers," Lynch said.

Lynch also ignited the Coliseum crowd with an impromptu dance on the sideline as music blasted after Richard's 52-yard score.

"It got me fired up," said Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, a fellow East Bay native who grew up in nearby Hayward. "You can see the pure passion that he has. These are his people. These are my people. He played well. I know he was really happy to have his first game go like that. We got him in the end zone. He was rugged, and our team played really well. It was a great day for him."

Josh McCown completed 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, for the Jets. McCown had no interceptions, but he was sacked four times and lost a fumble.

"The effort was there and we fought," Jets head coach Todd Bowles said. "Too many plays in the second half. Too many big plays."

The Raiders built a 21-10 first-half lead, using two Carr touchdown passes to Crabtree and Lynch's touchdown run. Then the Raiders outscored the Jets 24-10 in the second half when Patterson and Richard scored on long runs and Carr threw his third touchdown pass of the day to Crabtree.

Oakland drove 81 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Crabtree with 4:54 left in the first quarter. The Raiders increased their lead to 14-0 with 12:55 left in the first half when Carr hit Crabtree with a 26-yard touchdown pass along the right sideline.

McCown threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kearse with 9:08 remaining in the first half as the Jets cut the Raiders' lead to 14-7.

"We did come out and fight," Kearse said. "I felt like we played a lot better. We had some drives. We converted on third down. We made some strides. It's going to be a tough, tough season, but we’re just going to have to keep fighting. We can't get down on ourselves. We can't point the finger."

Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 46-yard field goal as the Jets made it 14-10 with 3:06 showing.

New York forced a punt, but quickly turned the ball over. Kalif Raymond muffed Marquette King's booming punt and Oakland's Johnny Holton recovered at the Jets' 4.

Lynch carried three straight times and scored up the middle on a 2-yard run with 21 seconds left in the first half.

The Jets cut the Raiders' lead to 21-13 on Catanzaro's 40-yard field goal with 7:10 left in the third quarter.

Oakland answered with Patterson's 43-yard touchdown run on third-and-1, increasing Oakland's lead to 28-13 with 3:31 left in the third.

Patterson took an inside handoff, shot up the middle through a big hole, then cut to his left as cornerback Juston Burris whiffed on a tackle attempt. Patterson outran the rest of the Jets defense into the end zone.

"You couldn't draw it up better than that," Patterson said. "Practice, it opened up the same way, and you get in the game and it was the same. It's unbelievable how perfect it worked out."

The Raiders increased their lead to 35-13 with 12:49 left to play on Richard's 52-yard touchdown run. Lined up next to Carr in the shotgun, Richard took a pitch right, cut back and turned on the speed.

"Somebody rushed really hard up the field and it made me plant and come inside," Richard said. "All the Jets kind of overflowed."

One play after Karl Joseph had a strip-sack of McCown and recovered at the Jets' 18, Carr hit Crabtree in the right front corner of the end zone, making it 42-13 with 12:27 left.

McCown hit Kearse over the middle for an 11-yard touchdown with 8:42 remaining, and Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio hit a 29-yard field goal with 25 seconds left.

NOTES: Jets starting TE Eric Tomlinson (concussion) and backup TE Jordan Leggett (knee) were inactive. No. 3 TE Will Tye started against the Raiders. ... Raiders starting RCB Sean Smith (neck) was inactive, and TJ Carrie started. ... Raiders rookie CB Gareon Conley, a first-round pick out of Ohio State, made his NFL debut after missing the season opener with a shin injury and played in the nickel defense. ... Jets QB Christian Hackenberg was inactive, and Bryce Petty suited up as New York's backup quarterback.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
N.Y. Jets   Oakland
Matt Forte Player Jalen Richard
9 Attempts 6
53 Yards 58
5.9 Avg Yards 9.7
0 Touchdowns 1
16 Long 52
Receiving
N.Y. Jets   Oakland
Jermaine Kearse Player Michael Crabtree
4 Receptions 6
64 Yards 80
16.0 Avg Yards 13.3
2 Touchdowns 3
34 Long 26
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
N.Y. Jets 271 126 145 2 2 0 0.0 1
Oakland 410 180 230 6 1 0 4.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • Oakland will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Raiders have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • N.Y. Jets will play their next game at home against Miami. The Jets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
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