The Las Vegas Raiders beat the New York Jets 38-33 at MetLife Stadium, sealed by Matt Gay's 53-yard field goal with 27 seconds left. The Jets were the better offense between the 20s and still lost, because they kept kicking when they needed touchdowns.

The Jets Lost This Game in the Red Zone

New York reached the red zone 6 times and scored touchdowns on only 2 of those trips. Las Vegas went 4 for 4. That gap decided the game more than anything else on the stat sheet.

Jason Sanders kicked 4 field goals, and the last one hurt the most. Trailing 35-30, the Jets drove for a 31-yard field goal with 4:31 left, which left them still behind instead of in front. Las Vegas then had time to add Gay's long kick and make the deficit more than a field goal.

Nearly everything else favored New York. The Jets outgained the Raiders, ran for 166 yards at about 6 a carry and piled up more first downs. Field goals instead of touchdowns wasted all of it.

Red zone: LV 4-4, NYJ 2-6
Total yards: NYJ 439, LV 333
Yards per play: NYJ 7.2, LV 5.6
Rushing: NYJ 27 ATT, 166 YDS; LV 33 ATT, 95 YDS
First downs: NYJ 26, LV 22

The Raiders Won It on Third Down

Las Vegas could not run the ball, averaging about 3 yards a carry, and it barely mattered. The Raiders converted 7 of 11 third downs. The Jets managed just 4 of 11.

Kirk Cousins was at the center of the finishing work. He threw touchdown passes to Brock Bowers twice and Jalen Nailor once, and added a 1-yard scoring run. When Las Vegas got close, he finished the drive himself or found a target in tight space.

Ball security closed it out. The Raiders did not turn the ball over, while the Jets threw the game's only interception. In a one-score game, the team that protected the ball and won third down beat the team that gained more yards.

Third down: LV 7-11, NYJ 4-11
Team passing: LV 19-26, 238 YDS, 0 INT; NYJ 20-32, 273 YDS, 1 INT
Turnovers: LV 0, NYJ 1
Sacks allowed: LV 1-9, NYJ 2-17

The Raiders Answer Back, Especially on the Road

Las Vegas is now 3-1 away from home and 1-3 at home. That split is no fluke after Sunday, which looked like a team comfortable in someone else's building.

The Raiders kept answering. Isaiah Williams caught an 18-yard touchdown from Geno Smith to put New York ahead in the second quarter, and 12 seconds later Dylan Laube returned the kickoff 95 yards for a score.

The pattern held after halftime. Braelon Allen's 21-yard touchdown run extended the Jets' lead in the third quarter, and Cousins answered with his 1-yard run later that period. Nailor's 2-yard catch early in the fourth gave Las Vegas a lead it never gave back.

What It Means

The Raiders reach 4-4, and their 3-1 road record is the strongest part of their résumé. A team that can win a shootout away from home on third-down efficiency and clean football has a formula that travels.

The Jets fall to 2-6, including 1-3 at home. They moved the ball well enough to win this game, but an offense that turns 6 red-zone trips into 2 touchdowns will keep losing close ones until it learns to finish drives.