Getty Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders.
If the Las Vegas Raiders (4-7) had a winning record, running back Josh Jacobs might have put himself in the MVP conversation with Las Vegas’ 40-34 overtime win against the Seattle Seahawks. He put up 303 total yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns, including the 86-yard game-winner in overtime. He now leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,159 and is Pro Football Focus’ top-rated running back.
On its own, Jacobs’ performance against the Seahawks was impressive enough, but given what Jacobs had been dealing with made it even more impressive. He almost didn’t play after hurting his calf during practice earlier in the week and being listed as questionable on the injury report.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Jacobs said after the game. “Coming in not knowing if I was going to play, I was looking the guys in they eyes and telling them they going to get everything they got out of me.”
Not only did Jacobs play, but he also put together the best performance by a running back in Raiders history. He had been having a good game through three quarters but blew up in the fourth quarter and overtime. However, he almost didn’t get a chance to play at the end of the game because team trainers wanted him to sit out after aggravating his injury.
“They didn’t want me to finish the game,” Jacobs said, “but I kind of convinced them that I could go.”
Jacobs proved himself right, though, and the Raiders probably wouldn’t have won if he didn’t play at the end.
Pay Josh Jacobs?
The Raiders may have done Jacobs a big favor by declining his fifth-year option in the offseason. Instead of having to wait another season to get paid, he is line for a massive contract in the offseason. His play was so impressive against the Seahawks that phrases like “pay that man” and “pay him” started trending on Twitter.
Josh Jacobs had a decent evening I guess
This offseason, the Raiders signed Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow to multi-year contracts worth a combined $344.5 million but opted not to extend Jacobs. But he has easily outplayed Waller (five games, 175 yards, one touchdown) and Renfrow (six games, 192 receiving yards, no touchdowns) this season and is making the case he should be back next season. It’s going to cost the team a pretty penny if they hope to keep him. He’s said he wants to stay in Las Vegas and has the Raiders logo tattooed on him. The team has to hope he’s willing to give a hometown discount.
Josh McDaniels Praises Jacobs
There’s no way head coach Josh McDaniels knew Jacobs was this good when he took the Raiders job. He likely played a role in the team declining his option and drafting of Zamir White. There were even talks of the team trading Jacobs after he played in the first preseason game.
McDaniels has been blown away by the way the running back has played. He’s not used to having a bell-cow running back as he’s typically utilized multiple players at the position. He doesn’t even know what to say about Jacobs anymore.
“I’m running out of superlatives,” McDaniels said Sunday. “He’s a football player; that’s probably the greatest compliment I can give him.”