OAKLAND, Calif. — Even Rex Ryan seemed speechless after this one.
The boisterous Jets coach struggled to find the words after his team, particularly his defense, was embarrassed by the Raiders, 34-24, in front of 61,546 fans at O.co Coliseum.
“This thing stings, there’s no question,” Ryan said quietly.
PHOTOS: RAIDERS BEAT JETS, 34-24
The Raiders rolled up 383 yards, 234 rushing, on the Jets defense that Ryan touted as the best in the NFL to hand the Jets their first loss of the season. It was the most rushing yards the Jets have given up under Ryan, and Darren McFadden’s 171 yards were the most a single rusher has gained on Ryan’s Jets. According to ESPN, a Ryan-coached defense had not allowed that many rushing yards since 1995, when he was an assistant with the Cardinals under his father, Buddy.
“It’s embarrassing,” Jets nose tackle Sione Pouha said. “It’s humiliating for us to have something like that happen to us.”
The Jets led 17-7 in the first half, then let the Raiders score 24 unanswered points. The Raiders took control late in the third quarter after the Jets failed to convert a fourth-and-2 on the Oakland 37 with the game tied at 17-17. Rookie receiver Denarius Moore scored on a 23-yard reverse to put the Raiders up by a touchdown. Then Antonio Cromartie muffed the ensuing kickoff, and the Raiders punched it in for a 31-17 lead two plays later.
“We lost to a team that was not as good as us, inferior to us,” outside linebacker Calvin Pace said, before later retracting the word inferior. “But give them credit, they made plays and we didn’t.”
This was the beginning of a three-game road stretch for the Jets that could be the most difficult period of their schedule. They face the Ravens next week in Baltimore before going to New England. A loss to the Raiders was not the start they were looking for.
And Ryan knew exactly where to point the finger.
“It wasn’t our offense,” Ryan said. “Our defense let us down clearly. We gave up way too many big plays and [had] way too many penalties.”
Those seven penalties for 61 yards were costly for the Jets, but not nearly as crucial as the defense falling down in trying to stop McFadden. Amazingly, the Raiders did not convert one third down (0-for-8) and still put up 34 points.
“We didn’t execute the way that we need to to win,” safety Jim Leonhard said. “You give up that many points and that many rushing yards you’re going to have a hard time winning in the NFL. That’s been proven year in, year out.”
The Raiders came out firing on the first possession, running a lot of no-huddle, and driving 76 yards in five plays, capped by McFadden’s 2-yard touchdown.
“We didn’t come out ready to play, there’s no doubt about it,” Leonhard said. “You can’t point any fingers anywhere. When a team comes out and goes 77 yards that quickly, you weren’t ready. We’ve got a lot of issues we have to clean up.”
The Jets offense had a decent game. Mark Sanchez, who was sacked four times in the second half and may have suffered a broken nose, threw for a career high 369 yards, and the Jets gained 100 yards on the ground for the first time this year.
Gang Green had a 17-7 lead with 5:06 left to play in the first half, then McFadden took over. He broke a 70-yard touchdown that brought the Raiders right back in the game. Tight end Kevin Boss pancaked Bart Scott on the edge to allow McFadden to hit the corner, then he broke a Leonhard tackle and sprinted past Cromartie.
The Raiders tied the game at 17-17 on a 54-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal as time expired in the half.
The Jets made a late push to make it a game when Sanchez connected with Plaxico Burress for a 17-yard score to make it 31-24 with 5:38 to play. But the Raiders got Janikowski into field-goal position three minutes later and his 49-yarder made it a 34-24 game.
Sanchez thought he cut the deficit to a touchdown when he was ruled to score from 2 yards out on fourth down with 52 seconds left, but the touchdown was wiped out upon review.
brian.costello@nypost.com