The Oakland Raiders had one of their best offensive seasons in recent memory last season. After struggling for years to score consistently, the Darren McFadden led offense broke out in 2010, finishing 10th in yards per game and 6th in points per game.
Two games into the 2011 season and the Raiders are picking up right where they left off. The Raiders are currently 12th in yards per game and 8th in points per game. Darren McFadden has the second most rushing yards this season and Jason Campbell has the 10th best passer rating so far this season.
However, the Raiders will have a tough time keeping up their high offensive standings this week as they play one of the NFL’s tougher defenses in the New York Jets.
Jets head coach Rob Ryan, the brother of former Raiders defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, is one of the better defensive minds in the NFL and has one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL with Darelle "the island" Revis and Antonio "I can't remember my kids names" Cromartie. They boast a top ten run defense and have only given up 13.5 points a game this year.
With the Raiders defense struggling to find consistency, the Raiders offense has had to pick up the slack in the first two games of the season. So far, they have answered the call, averaging 29 points per game through the first two games of the season.
This week will be a huge test for the Oakland Raiders offense. If they want to compete for a playoff spot this season, the Raiders offense will need to prove that they can put points on the board against some of the tougher defenses in the league.
While Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden are the leaders on offense, the Raiders will need some of their other explosive players like Denarius Moore and Marcel Reece to step up and make plays in order to take pressure off of McFadden and Campbell.
The Raiders certainly have the weapons necessary to score on a defense like that of the Jets, the only question is whether or not they will be able to execute on a consistent enough basis to keep up with a team that has been in both of the last two AFC Championship games.