If a postseason elimination game in Week 8 exists, the contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets is it. The 3-4 Raiders and 2-5 Jets are only separated by a game and both teams are on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture, meaning neither club can afford another loss to stay “in the hunt” at the halfway point of the season. So, the three key matchups below will be crucial to keep any (albeit slim) playoff hopes alive.
Johnson vs. Cooper
While wide receiver Garrett Wilson is still the Jets’
top option in the passing game, leading the team with 37 catches for 444 yards and three touchdowns through seven games, Wilson’s production has significantly decreased over the last two weeks. He’s logged just six catches for 70 yards in the last couple of contests combined. Part of the reason for that is rookie wideout Omar Cooper Jr. returned from injury.
After suffering a sprained ankle while hauling in his first NFL catch (a 30-yarder) and just five snaps into his professional debut, Cooper has been on a tear since returning from injured reserve in Week 6. He had six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots and then went for five, 115 and one versus the Miami Dolphins last Sunday.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Indiana product has spent 67.8% of his pass snaps in the slot this season, where seven of his catches (58.3% of his season total) and 188 yards (75.8%) have come from. Additionally, his 5.37 yards per route run from the slot ranks third among NFL wide receivers who have at least six targets on the inside. Granted, that’s where missing four games is a slight advantage, as that figure could come down with a bigger sample size. But the overall point is that Cooper has been a problem for opposing nickelbacks.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have a veteran nickel in Taron Johnson, who has been stingy in slot coverage this season. Of corners with at least 41 coverage snaps on the interior, he ranks fifth in yards per coverage snap allowed at 0.63, giving up 10 catches on 16 targets (62.5%) for 96 yards and a touchdown, per PFF. That being said, Johnson has benefited from a few off-target throws, recording just one PBU and logging a subpar 54.0 coverage grade.
Where this matchup could get really interesting is after the catch. Despite missing time, Cooper ranks seventh among slot receivers with 111 YAC and second in YAC per reception (15.9, minimum six targets) and has forced three missed tackles, according to PFF. Johnson is 15th among nickels in total YAC allowed (58) and is typically a sure tackler, recording his first miss of 2026 in Week 5. However, he has four failed tackle attempts in the last three games.
While Wilson is the name people recognize most in the Jets’ receiving corps, Cooper is the hot hand right now, which makes Johnson’s impact on Sunday even more important.
Bowers vs. Fitzpatrick
Brock Bowers’ impact on the Raiders’ offense doesn’t need much explanation. He missed the first two games of the season and still leads the team in targets (52) and receptions (34) while trailing wide receiver Tre Tucker for the team lead in receiving yards (474 to 455) and touchdowns (four to three). That’s led to the tight end getting the ‘WR1’ treatment from defenses, where Las Vegas’ opponents often put their best coverage defender on him.
For New York, that player is versatile defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. The nine-year veteran has made five Pro Bowls and been a first-team All-Pro three times throughout his career and is still playing at a high level.
On 148 coverage snaps this season, he’s only been targeted nine times and has yielded just five receptions, per PFF, with a PBU and an interception thrown in the mix. However, he is prone to giving up explosive plays in coverage, allowing 122 receiving yards for 24.4 yards per catch, including 20-, 37- and 42-yard grabs.
Granted, Fitzpatrick has only given up on catch to a tight end — an 18-yarder to Colston Loveland in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears — and the Jets rank 13th with 0.186 EPA per target to tight ends this season, per Sumer Sports.
But Bowers is not a typical player for the position, and New York is coming off games where Hunter Henry had four catches for 48 yards, four first downs and a touchdown, and Greg Dulcich went for five grabs, 85 yards and five first downs. Part of the issue for Gang Green, though, is that none of Henry’s and Dulcich’s targets came against Fitzpatrick.
In other words, expect to see the two perennial Pro Bowlers line up across from each other often in Week 8.
Jeanty vs. Sherwood
Of course, the Raiders’ run game is struggling, ranking second to last in the NFL with negative 0.27 EPA per rush, according to Sumer Sports. That likely isn’t changing against a Jets defense that currently has the eighth-best EPA per rush at negative 0.12. Still, a matchup between a running back and a linebacker can be a big one on Sunday with the implications it has in the passing game.
Ashton Jeanty has almost as many receiving yards as rushing yards so far this year (312 to 328) and currently leads all running backs in receptions (34, tied with Christian McCaffrey), receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (three). He’s also the most targeted (43) back in the league and is tied for seventh with Jahmyr Gibbs in yards per route run (1.91), according to PFF.
Meanwhile, Jamien Sherwood has been a quality coverage linebacker in New York this season. He has a solid 65.5 PFF coverage grade that ranks 25th at the position and is tied for 20th with a seven percent forced incompletion rate. Additionally, Sherwood has given up 25 or fewer receiving yards in five out of seven games.
However, he has yielded 236 yards on the campaign, with over half (127) coming in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions. The former college safety had an especially tough time against Gibbs, who hauled in five catches on five targets for 47 yards against him, per PFF. Lions’ backup running back Sione Vaki also had an 11-yard catch versus Sherwood in that contest, for good measure.
Also, the matchup extends to a pass protection battle. Sherwood has registered 12 pressures on 49 pass rushes — the third-most among off-ball linebackers — and Jeanty has given up three pressures on 37 opportunities. However, the latter has been much better in that department lately, allowing just one pressure in the last four games while recording three PFF pass-blocking grades in the high 70s to low 80s three times during that stretch.
In other words, this matchup has a high variance of outcomes.
In full disclosure, Tyler Linderbaum vs. T’Vondre Sweat and DJ Glaze vs. David Bailey were also considered key matchups. However, according to Eric Allen of the Jets’ website, head coach Aaron Glenn said Sweat is week-to-week with a knee injury that caused him to exit last week’s game early, and Bailey is dealing with a “lingering” groin injury that could keep him sidelined on Sunday. Neither player participated in Wednesday’s practice.
