3 things to watch in Sunday’s Raiders-Jets game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It would be easy for the Raiders to start peeking ahead to next week’s AFC West divisional showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, but a huge step awaits them against the New York Jets.

While the Jets’ 3-7 record isn’t exactly an attention grabber, the Raiders are focused much more on the Jets’ two-game winning streak and their attacking defense.

Rightfully so, given how the Raiders desperately need to beat the Jets to set up next week’s showdown against the Chiefs.

With six games remaining, the Raiders control their own destiny. But they’ll squander it looking too far ahead and losing to a team that, on paper, they should handle.

Here are three things to watch in Sunday’s game:

Can the Raiders handle the Jets’ pass rush?

The Jets have a league-leading 16 quarterback sacks over the last three games to go along with 24 quarterbacks hits. And they do it with creative blitz packages that attack from all over the field.

In fact, safety Jamal Adams has six and linebacker Jordan Jenkins has three of those 16 sacks. That puts a premium on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and his offensive line identifying where the blitz pressure is coming from, communicating the protection calls and then executing the blocking assignments.

Will Maxx Crosby build on his recent success?

Maxx Crosby, the Raiders’ rookie from Eastern Michigan, had a career-high four sacks last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals to up his season total to 6.5. His length, athletic ability and competitiveness make him an ideal pass rusher, and as last Sunday showed, he is beginning to put it all together.

The performance got the attention of the Jets, who will likely set their protection in his direction. While that might mean a harder time getting to the quarterback, it also can open things up for his defensive teammates.

What kind of day will Josh Jacobs have?

One way the Raiders can help mitigate the pressure the Jets create with their pass rush is a dependable run game that takes advantage of an overly aggressive defensive attack.

The Jets are giving up 42.3 rushing yards per game over their last three games, but there should be opportunities Jacobs can exploit given the structure of the Jets’ defense.

If so, the seed the Raiders plant with Jacobs will benefit Derek Carr in the pass game as the Jets’ blitzing nature — coupled with some potential cheating by other defensive players eager to stop the run — could create some big-play opportunities downfield.

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Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.