After a middling start to the season, running back Josh Jacobs has put together the best two-game stretch of his career.
He set a new single-game high with 144 yards in the Week Four victory over the Broncos. Then he set another with 154 yards in the Week Five loss to the Chiefs.
While it seemed like Jacobs would be a part of a rotation at running back when the season started, he’s re-emerged as the bell cow back he was envisioned to be under the previous Raiders regime.
Head coach Josh McDaniels said in a press conference this week that running the ball well is a product of a lot of people doing their jobs, from the offensive line to quarterback Derek Carr checking into the right plays.
“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.”
After rushing for 1,150 yards and averaging 4.8 yards per carry as a rookie, Jacobs averaged 3.9 yards per carry in 2020 and 4.0 yards in 2021.
He’s up to 5.4 yards per carry in 2022 and has clearly been the driving force behind Las Vegas’ offensive success over the last two games — even if one of them ended in a loss.
Coming off a Week Six bye, Jacobs should be decently fresh for Sunday’s matchup against the Texans.
