10/25 — You can’t emphasize enough the significance of one play during the Jets’ 38-0 shutout victory over the Raiders today in Oakland.

And it was the first one. JaMarcus Russell dropped back in the Raiders pocket, clumsily holding the ball while looking downfield. All the while, Calvin Pace pushed his block and eventually stripped Russell of the rock before Marques Douglas recovered for New York’s AFC representative at the Raiders’ 4-yard line.

“We just wanted to give him some different looks and get some hits on him," Pace said. "JaMarcus carries the ball a little low when he’s back in the pocket, so the plan was to try to get there and swipe at the ball when you get an opportunity. Luckily that happened.”

Four plays later, Thomas Jones crossed the goal line from the 1 and the Jets had a 7-0 lead. And this was against a team that entering today’s contest was averaging 10.8 points a game. So to put it another way, it was darn near the equivalent of getting a 24-0 first-half lead on the Indianapolis Colts.

Then later in the first stanza after both teams exchanged punts, Russell inexplicably threw a no-look pass under pressure from LB David Harris. Throwing to nobody in particular, Jets S Jimmy Leonhard picked up his first interception as a Jet and returned it a career-long 44 yards to the Raiders' 4. (Sound familiar?) That set up Mark Sanchez’s short keeper and the Jets had a 14-0 lead.  Having that kind of advantage on the Raiders would be like owning a 38-point lead on the Colts.

“It was important to get off to a fast start,” said ILB Bart Scott. “Good things happen when you get a lead.”

When Russell had the Raiders moving late in the first, he made the mistake of attacking Darrelle Revis. For some reason, Russell thought Todd Watkins was a good 1-on-1 option against the NFL’s top corner. Instead Revis, who totaled three PDs, made a beautiful pick in the end zone. 

“I just think we said we’re coming to play today,” Leonhard said. “We hadn’t been doing that enough in the games we had lost. We hadn’t been creating turnovers — we had been making plays, but we haven’t been making big plays that change games. To come out and have three on their first four series, that’s a killer for the other team.”

Russell was buried for the day. The Raiders benched the strong-armed passer after a 6-of-11 showing and elected to go with Bruce Gradkowski late in the second. It wouldn’t matter on this afternoon as the Jets raced to a 24-0 halftime lead and then Pace stripped Gradkowski and Mike DeVito recovered midway through the third to halt another Oakland possession in Jets territory.

Five plays later, Sanchez went deep to David Clowney for 35 yards and it was 31-0, Jets. The Raiders seemed to have problems with the Jets' movement of Pace in Week 7 as defensive coordinator Mike Pettine flipped him and Bryan Thomas around. Pace broke out, recording three sacks and forcing the two takeways.

“It wasn’t anything crazy. I just played BT’s position a couple of times and he played mine. It wasn’t a situation where I felt uncomfortable," said Pace.  "It was actually good for me. I think it helped us out, more because people can’t key on me always being to the tight end.”

The 38-point final margin tied the franchise record for largest road victory margin, set in 1997 when the Jets opened the season with a 41-3 victory at Seattle. And even when the Raiders drove to the Jets’ 1 late in the fourth, the defense held on three consecutive plays to preserve the shutout.

“Shutouts are hard to come by, there’s no question,” said Jets head coach Rex Ryan. “It’s hard to shut out somebody in this league. A lot of things have to go right for you and I was proud of the way our guys responded.”

In their first action without big NT Kris Jenkins, the Jets didn't allow one point.

“Obviously he’s a guy that’s impossible to replace, but we think we have a lot of good football players," Ryan said. "We have to tighten up what we do, we have to take ownership — all those guys — and they have to share the load. We really lost Shaun Ellis for a little bit as well, but he was able to return. Everybody on this football team is going to contribute one time or another. That’s how football works.”

You knew the Jets would be working well after only one play.

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