Outside of Davante Adams, the best offensive weapon for the Las Vegas Raiders so far this season has been running back Josh Jacobs. Despite coming into the season with trade rumors surrounding him as well as a belief that he would be part of a committee, Jacobs has emerged as the Raiders’ workhorse back.
Even in playing one less game than most due to the Raiders having an early bye week, Jacobs still ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards trailing only Nick Chubb and Saquon Barkley. He also ranks second in first downs, third in rush yards per game, and eighth in yards per carry.
Needless to say, Jacobs has been a big positive so far, and head coach Josh McDaniels had nothing but praise for the back, noting that the Raiders must keep control of the game in order to continue to be able to give Jacobs his touches, via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk:
“And then JJ has just done a tremendous job with his opportunities,” McDaniels said. “I think we had a few games there early in the season where we kind of were playing backwards, we lost control of the lead, and then once you lose control of the score, sometimes you lose control of being able to stay balanced as long as you would like, and certainly no team wants to do that. So, there’ll be a tug of war on Sunday to try to get control of the score, and they’re going to be trying to do the same thing we’re doing so that we can hand him the ball and let him do his thing.
“He’s just been tough to tackle, very durable. Obviously, he makes people miss in space, he finishes runs the right way and so far he’s taking care of the ball. So, just a really good, complete back.”
Make no mistake, Jacobs has been an integral part of the Raiders’ offense, especially in the team’s last two games. He set career-highs in back-to-back weeks, rushing for 144 yards in Week 4 against the Broncos before topping that with 154 yards in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But as McDaniels pointed out, the Raiders falling behind in a couple of their early contests surely played a role in Jacobs’ lack of touches as the team was forced to throw the ball in trying to come back.
The Raiders being in front and controlling the game will make it much easier for Jacobs to get the touches he has earned, and his success on the ground makes things much easier for the Raiders’ passing attack. Whatever the score is, McDaniels must continue to make sure Jacobs has the ball in his hands regularly.
