Josh Jacobs’ ‘Toughness’ Stood Out To Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels In OT Win Against Seahawks

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after a historic performance against the Seattle Seahawks.

Jacobs rushed for a franchise-record 229 yards on 33 carries and had two touchdowns, including a game-winning 86-yard score in overtime. He also caught six passes for 74 yards, finishing his day with 303 total yards from scrimmage.

Jacobs lived up to his reputation of being one of the toughest running backs to tackle, as he had four rushes of at least 12 yards and went untouched on his walk-off touchdown.

“Yeah, his effort, toughness I thought stood out obviously in the running game,” Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said of Jacobs when asked if anything jumped out to him after watching the game tape.

“I thought he did some good things in the passing game, and he’s improving. I think he’s improving his repertoire; he’s improving his route tree. He catches the ball very well obviously, and he did some things in terms of the little things in the game that probably don’t get discussed a whole lot – blitz pickup.

“They tried to get us a couple of times, and he had his eyes where they should have been, and he got his job done. I thought he did a great job on the flea flicker of hanging in there, and we call it ‘he took one for the team.’ When he tossed it back to Derek [Carr], obviously he got he got walloped pretty good. But little things like that, he’s unselfish. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do.

“So, if it’s blitz pick up 10-15 times a game, he’ll do it. Catch passes, block, chip, it doesn’t make any difference to him, he just wants to win. I think that’s the greatest trait he has is whatever you ask him to do if it can help the team win, he’s all in.”

Jacobs’ elite play couldn’t come at a better time, as he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Through 11 games, the 24-year-old leads the NFL with 1,159 rushing yards and has scored nine touchdowns while nabbing 40 receptions for an additional 325 receiving yards.