The Las Vegas Raiders faced off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that meant a lot for the Silver and Black. Personal motivations aside, did Las Vegas get the running game get going behind Josh Jacobs and company?
Pro Football Focus posed the question for Raider Nation before the game, would Jacobs gain more than 68 rushing yards? Well as it turned out, none of the Raiders running backs got close to that mark. The Bucs defense proved to be too much for Jacobs as he ended the game with 17 yards off of 10 rushes. Jacobs’ average yardage per carry paints an even more dismal picture, as he could only muster 1.7 yards per rush.
Can Josh Jacobs hit his over against a tough Bucs RunD?
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How Did The Rest Of The Raiders Running Backs Do?
It wasn’t any better for the rest of the Silver and Black’s running backs. Jalen Richard ended up leading the team in rushing yards with 24 off of seven carries. His longest run of the game was for nine yards.
Devontae Booker wasn’t much better and ended up having no real impact on the game. He totaled an abysmal five yards on three carries, even though the Raiders coaching staff previously said they wanted to get him involved more.
All in all, the Bucs defense was able to effectively shut down any efforts by the Raiders to get the running game going. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was able to get off 10 rushing yards, probably the sole highlight today as far as the running game. Jacobs hasn’t been his usual self here in the early going, this is due to multiple factors. Biggest of all is the health of the offensive line and also, opposing defenses zeroing in on Jacobs. It’ll be interesting to see if the Silver and Black can re-establish the running game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 8.
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*Top Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports