The Las Vegas Raiders beat the New York Jets 38-33 on Sunday, and it wasn’t pretty for a while. The first half showed a Raiders team that didn’t look great. In fact, Vegas could have been down 23-7 at halftime without a special teams touchdown.

The Raiders got their act together in the second half. However, some areas of this team still weren’t good enough, even in the final two quarters. That gives us a list of winners and losers from this one. To be clear, “losers” isn’t meant in a derogatory way. It simply means their stock went down. Seven winners and four losers.

Raiders winners vs. the Jets

Matt Gay, K

Matt Gay deserves a game ball. He lined up for a 53-yard field goal on fourth-and-5, and a miss would have handed New York the ball in great field position. That would have given the Jets a chance to drive for a game-winning field goal of their own. Gay nailed it after a rough outing the week before.

Kirk Cousins, QB

Kirk Cousins lit it up. He finished 19-of-26 for 247 yards and three touchdown passes, and he did it while completing passes to only four players. Jalen Nailor, Michael Mayer, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers were the only Raiders to catch a ball. Cousins got Bowers involved early and often, found Mayer when it mattered, and kept converting on third down. This was one of his best games in a Las Vegas uniform.

Brock Bowers, TE

Does anything need to be said here? That first touchdown, a one-handed grab, was one of the best catches you’ll see this year. Brock Bowers finished with seven catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 10 targets. He could have had more, but he had one drop on a ball the defender covered well. Bowers had the big game we all expected, because the Jets haven’t defended tight ends well.

Michael Mayer, TE

Michael Mayer stepped up in a huge way. He caught five of his six targets for 53 yards, including a big 19-yard reception. He also blocked well in the run game whenever the Raiders ran wide zone with Mike Washington. This was likely his best game since Bowers returned to the lineup.

Jalen Nailor, WR

Jalen Nailor had the best game of his Raiders career. He caught all four of his targets, converted three third downs (two of them on 12-yard catches), and scored his first touchdown with Vegas. Nailor had been almost invisible the last few weeks, and fans were starting to wonder whether he was worth the money. He didn’t pile up yards, but he made crucial plays.

Maxx Crosby, EDGE

Maxx Crosby was all over the place with four tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, and two quarterback hits. His impact went beyond the stat sheet, too. On one play, Geno Smith had Garrett Wilson wide open for a touchdown, but Crosby’s hand in his face made that throw nearly impossible. That doesn’t show up in the box score.

Dylan Laube, RB

Dylan Laube took a kickoff 95 yards to the house, reaching 21 miles per hour per Next Gen Stats. It was the Raiders’ first kickoff return touchdown since 2011 and the first kickoff return touchdown of 2026. Without it, this game would look very different.

Raiders losers vs. the Jets

Eric Stokes, CB

Eric Stokes had one of his worst games. He did have a few good moments, breaking up two would-be touchdowns in the first quarter. But he also gave up at least four third- and fourth-down conversions, and one of those fourth-down plays went for a touchdown. I think even Stokes would admit he has to be better, especially if he’s going to be the team’s No. 1 cornerback.

Jermod McCoy, CB

The rookie had three coverage busts. Two came against Adonai Mitchell, with Jermod McCoy and Tommy Eichenberg supposed to be in bracket coverage, and both went for chunk plays that moved the chains. McCoy also gave up an 18-yard touchdown to Isaiah Williams, who was wide open. That just can’t happen.

Tommy Eichenberg, LB

Tommy Eichenberg gets dinged for those same busts alongside McCoy. Beyond that, his tackling wasn’t sharp, and he frankly wasn’t very good in the run game either.

The defensive line

The defensive line allowed Braelon Allen to have a career-best game. He ran for 147 yards and a 24-yard touchdown on 21 carries, ripping off several chunk plays. The gap integrity was nonexistent, and the Jets ran for 166 yards as a team. That won’t cut it. The pass rush was also nonexistent in the first half, with no pressure on Smith.

The second half was a little better, and some players stepped up, including Tim Keenan, who got a sack. Other than that, the unit had a rough day. Either way, the Raiders walked away with the win. But if the defense plays like this again, Vegas can’t count on a kick return touchdown and a 53-yarder to bail it out.