The Las Vegas Raiders came out of their bye week in the right way against the Houston Texans, coming away with a 38-20 victory to improve their record to 2-4. And once again, the offense revolved around running back Josh Jacobs, who came through in a huge way.
While he came up short of setting another career high, Jacobs still ran 143 yards on just 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. This is the third straight contest in which Jacobs has rushed for at least 140 yards and a touchdown, and he, and star receiver Davante Adams, have become far and away the Raiders’ most reliable offensive weapons.
And Adams had nothing but praise for Jacobs following the game, raving about his attitude regarding running the football. “The dog that he got inside of him,” Davante Adams said of Josh Jacobs.
“You got to spend time with a guy to really know the level because there’s a lot of good backs in this league.
“I’m not taking anything away from anybody else, but the way he runs the ball, the way he wants the ball, he wants to be the guy in those big moments like that, and he steps up to the plate.”
Jacobs also showed that last season, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders’ season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers that clinched their playoff berth. Following that contest, he spoke about wanting the ball in those situations, and that has carried over into this year now that the Raiders are giving him the necessary carries.
While Jacobs still trails Nick Chubb and Saquon Barkley in total rushing yards, he has played one fewer game than both and has climbed ahead of Barkley in rush yards per game at 105.5, just narrowly trailing Chubb’s 105.7. He is also second in touchdowns with six, trailing Chubb, who sits atop the list with eight.
What is clear is that Jacobs has emerged as one of the best running backs in the game, and the Raiders can not lose sight of that and must continue to give him his carries. Obviously, game scripts will come into play, and falling behind early changes things, but if the Raiders get back in the playoff race this season, Josh Jacobs will be a huge part of that.
