We’re approaching the midway point of the NFL season, and the New York Jets are coming off a poor loss to a previously winless Miami Dolphins team last Sunday. The defeat dropped New York to 2-5 on the season.
That makes Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) even more pivotal if the Jets want to salvage their season.
Ahead of the matchup, longtime NFL head coach and Super Bowl winner Jon Gruden discussed the upcoming game during his weekly “Gruden Family Football Show” with his brother, Jay, on Barstool Sports.
Gruden Doesn’t Hold Back on Jets
There may be some bias in this matchup, as Gruden coached the Raiders for eight seasons across two separate stints. However, he focused primarily on the Jets and their recent struggles.
“The Jets at the end of the half, 107 to 6 they’ve been outscored in the last year and seven games. Not good. They don’t use Garrett Wilson very much, Geno Smith going back up against the team that let him go… I think this has the looks of a high-scoring game, but the Jets make too many critical mistakes on defense to win, Jay,” Gruden said. “They just make some glaring mistakes that are going cost them against Kirk Cousins. I look at Kirk Cousins against Geno Smith and I’m taking Kirk Cousins and the Raiders.
“It’s like the rotten apple. It’s not the big apple, it’s the rotten apple. I got a stat here. The Jets have lost 189 freaking games at home since 1981 or something. Get out of there with a win, man.”
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— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) October 29, 2026
Jeanty Calls Out Jets Defense
New York has traditionally prided itself on its defense, especially over the last handful of seasons when the offense has struggled to produce.
However, that may be changing with this Jets team, and Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty decided to give New York some bulletin board material. He’s seeing some of the same issues Gruden pointed out.
While speaking to the media this week, Jeanty said he believes the Raiders can find opportunities to get their running game going because some players on the Jets’ defense don’t seem interested in tackling.
“Yeah. I think we can definitely get the run game going. Get back on track. … A couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle, but I’m not going to say names,” Jeanty said.
Several members of New York’s defense, including DeMario Davis and Minkah Fitzpatrick, acknowledged Jeanty’s comments, as did defensive coordinator Brian Duker.
Still, they’ll have to prove that narrative wrong. Right now, with five losses before November, it’s safe to say the Jets’ season is on life support.
Jon Gruden Doesn’t Hold Back on New York Jets Ahead of Raiders Game