Originally published by RaidersNewswire.com
Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been a standout for the team so far and an absolutely crucial part of the team picking up two wins in the last three games. Jacobs finds himself amongst the league leaders in rushing yards, touchdowns, and yards per carry as the Raiders now have some hope in turning this season around.
The Raiders have been in every game so far but always seemed to come up just short. Making things worse early on was the fact that Jacobs simply wasn’t touching the ball enough. Jacobs averaged around 16 touches per game in the Raiders’ first three contests, all losses, but is averaging more than 27 touches in the last three games.
This is a major reason why the Raiders have been more successful in recent weeks and is exactly what ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez pointed to in their latest power rankings which saw the Raiders rise four spots:
“Josh Jacobs has rushed for 441 yards with six touchdowns in Las Vegas’ past three games, averaging 6.4 yards per carry in that time frame. His ascendance has helped the Raiders right their oft-slow starting offense and win two of their past three games after an 0-3 start under new coach Josh McDaniels.
They have now also put themselves in position to go on a run of sorts, with the schedule easing up and Jacobs producing like an All-Pro.”
That upcoming schedule is definitely something to look forward to for the Raiders. Even though three of their next four games are on the road, they come against the New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Denver Broncos, who have a combined 6-15 record. The one home contest in that stretch is against the 3-3-1 Indianapolis Colts, who just benched starting quarterback Matt Ryan and are turning things over to rookie Sam Ehlinger.
Expecting Jacobs to continue to rack up 140 yards every week might be too much to ask, but the path is there for Jacobs to continue thriving, which will almost definitely keep the Raiders in the win column more often than not.
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