There were plenty of things to take away from the Las Vegas Raiders’ Week 8 win over the New York Jets, but perhaps the biggest was the decision to make rookie Mike Washington Jr. the featured running back over Ashton Jeanty. It’s no secret that Jeanty has struggled to make plays this season, but he’s also only a year removed from being the No. 6 pick in the draft.
It remains to be seen if this is a long-term decision for the Raiders. While Washington did 83 yards on the ground, he only averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
The most likely outcome is that the Raiders start splitting carries between the two running backs. Jeanty is used to being a workhorse, so that will be a change for him. Luckily, he has a good relationship with Washington.
The rookie made sure to praise Jeanty after the Jets game.
“Since I came in, he’s been a mentor to me,” Washington told reporters after the game. “Obviously, this is the second year. I’m new to everything, so each and every game is a lesson for me, and he’s been great with just helping me being able to just maneuver as a pro black athlete.”
Washington Downplays Being Featured RB
Washington looked excellent for the Raiders in the preseason, but it wasn’t expected that he’d be taking this many carries away from Jeanty this early in his career. Now, he hasn’t done enough to cement himself as the RB1 going forward. He understands that and is just going to keep his head down and be professional.
“We’re all pros,” Washington said. “We were brought here for a reason, and we’ve got to do what we got to do.”
The Raiders would love it if Jeanty could start to live up to his draft status, but if Washington becomes a reliable starter, that would help take some pressure off of that. Jeanty hasn’t been fully healthy this season, and the offensive line hasn’t done well in the run game. It’s possible that no running back would be able to find success in this offseason, but you can’t knock the Raiders for trying something different.
Klint Kubiak Shouts Out Raiders Fans
The Jets play on the opposite side of the country as the Raiders, so it was a big surprise how many fans of the team showed up. The volume of the Raiders fans was notable throughout the game.
The team has had to deal with opposing fans taking over Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, so it felt good to do the same thing to another team. Head coach Klint Kubiak gave the fan base a shout-out after the win.
“The Silver and Black [were] out,” Kubiak said in his postgame press conference. “We heard them, they were loud. They supported us pregame, all during the game and especially in that fourth quarter. That was really special, very grateful for our fans.
“Our players [were] very resilient, played four quarters of football. It wasn’t all pretty, but it’s not always going to be pretty. It’s finding a way to win.”
Raiders RB Mike Washington Has Message for Ashton Jeanty