Raiders running back Josh Jacobs sat out the offseason program, training camp and the preseason. He joined the team Aug. 26.
So, it was not surprising that the All-Pro rushed for only 48 yards on 19 carries, with his 2.5 yards per carry average the third-lowest of his career. He added two catches for 23 yards and had the block that sprung Jimmy Garoppolo on an 8-yard scramble that iced the win.
Jacobs was unsatisfied.
“We had a lot of runs that was really close [to breaking],” Jacobs said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “It’s just the small details. Not only that, man, I’ve got to knock the rust off, too. It was a few plays where I felt like I tripped up a little bit. Plays that I knew I could have made or reads that I was kind of a little late on. It’s going to come with me, man, working at practice and trying to get that back with not being here in the offseason.”
Jacobs averaged 48 snaps per game last season when he led the league in touches (393), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and rushing yards (1,653). He played 47 against the Broncos.
“It was an interesting game because I think he played in the teens [in snap count] in the first half, and normally you’d like your play count to be a little higher,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “So, just by the nature of how the game went, I didn’t think we would be able to push it to 65 or 70. But because we were so low in the play count in the first half, I felt like we would just let him kind of determine how he felt as he went into the second half.
“Nobody is more critical of his own performance than J.J., so he’ll see things that he can do better, and he’ll work really hard at improving, as will our team.”
Jacobs signed a one-year deal worth up to $12 million with bonuses, an adjustment on the $10.1 million franchise tag. He is scheduled to become a free agent in March.