To put it mildly, almost nothing went right for the Las Vegas Raiders in their 38-10 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Perhaps nothing personified that more than the final stat line for star running back Josh Jacobs, who finished with -2 yards on nine carries in the game.
The Raiders falling behind and trying to throw the ball in order to get back in the game surely had a lot to do with Jacobs’ lack of carries, but there was simply no room for him to operate whenever he got the ball. The Raiders actually started strong, going 75 yards in five plays to start the game.
But they totaled just 165 yards the rest of the way and turned the ball over three times. And it is that inconsistency, to go from moving the ball easily to being dominated, that frustrates Jacobs more than anything, via Sean Deveney of Heavy.com:
“I think that’s the thing that makes it so frustrating for me, the potential,” Jacobs said in his postgame interview. “You see flashes of how good we could really be. Just putting it all together on a consistent basis, that’s the thing we need to figure out how to do.”
Even with Jakobi Meyers missing the game due to a concussion, the Raiders still have plenty of weapons to be able to move the ball, but nothing worked in Buffalo. The offensive line couldn’t create any holes for Jacobs to work with, and that was the biggest culprit in his terrible day. But the back offered no excuses and even put the blame on himself:
“I feel like I gotta do more, honestly,” Jacobs said. “I gotta do more, create plays when it’s there. Make the guys right even if they mess up on a play. … We gotta identify what we didn’t do right, address those issues and next week focus on that. And come out and be ready on Sunday for the Steelers.”
Next Sunday’s contest against the Steelers will be a big one for the Raiders. Not only will they be looking to turn things around and erase the memory of this loss, but the Steelers have long been one of their biggest rivals. Additionally, both teams could be fighting for a playoff spot down the stretch of the season, so this win could go a long way as the Raiders look to get a step up on their AFC rival.
But getting Jacobs going and in dominant form will be crucial to the Raiders’ success, and he sounds determined to put this game behind him and get back on track in Week 3.
