Josh McDaniels on Josh Jacobs: ‘One of the best runners that I’ve ever been around’

Josh McDaniels on Josh Jacobs: ‘One of the best runners that I’ve ever been around’

The Las Vegas Raiders, who were the only winless NFL team entering Week 4, were plays away from having one of the NFL’s best records. Regardless, there was a common denominator between the three losses — Vegas was almost too reliant on the passing game when it might not have been in the right circumstance to be. That wasn’t the case Sunday in Las Vegas’ 32-23 win over the Denver Broncos, as head coach Josh McDaniels leaned on tailback Josh Jacobs, who had a career afternoon.

Jacobs rushed for 144 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns, recording at least five yards per carry for the third time this season. And after the game, McDaniels had high praise for Vegas’ 24-year-old tailback:

“He’s one of the best runners I’ve ever been around,” McDaniels told reporters after the game. “I’ve been around some good ones. He has a great ability to make yards after contact. He has a great ability to make yards even if there’s not a whole lot there right away.

“He bounces the ball, and sometimes as a coach when a guy bounces the ball, you say, ‘No, no, no, no.’ But usually his (runs) turn out okay. He makes good decisions, and he’s taking care of the football. Obviously, that’s an important part of this. They were trying to strip at it, punch at it tonight. They do a great job of creating fumbles. We talked about that all week. I was really proud of our team that we didn’t have any on the ground. And obviously J.J. (Josh Jacobs), with as much as he touched it, he did a good job.”

Full quotes here:

For reference, Josh McDaniels has been around the likes of Corey Dillon, LaGarrette Blount and Steven Jackson, among others. So that’s not the worst company, even though that’s not an incredibly elite class of running backs. And he has gotten off to a good start in his career. Jacobs, in the fourth year of his career, has rushed for 3,423 yards on 4.3 yards per carry with 30 rushing touchdowns, including 12 in 2020 and nine more last year, behind what could be considered a below average offensive line.

While he was the focal point of the offense this week, Jacobs responded in a crucial Week 4 divisional game.

“We kind of had the mindset we wanted this to be a physical game and leaned on Josh [Jacobs] and the running game a little bit more,” McDaniels said. “Our goal was to try to make it a fourth quarter game, where we had our play count up and we were trying to wear down the defense. Again, credit goes to our guys, I thought they played really hard. No turnovers, only four penalties. I think when you don’t beat yourself, you give yourself an opportunity to win, so I’m proud of our group.”

This isn’t the first time Jacobs has had success against Denver, either. In last year’s Week 16 matchup against Denver, he posted 27 carries for 129 yards and tallied another 100-yard game (112 yards) on 5.3 yards per carry with two rushing touchdowns in a 25-point win over Denver in Week 10 of 2020. Over his career, the Raiders are 8-1 when Jacobs records 25 or more carries.

Raiders record all-time when Josh Jacobs gets 25 or more carries: 8-1.

— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) October 3, 2022

Josh Jacobs gained a career-high 110 rushing yards on 18 carries inside the tackles (+35 rushing yards over expected).

Jacobs leads the NFL in both rushing yards (230) & RYOE (+55) on inside runs this season.#DENvsOAK | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/IH3beBEUpc

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 3, 2022

Credit McDaniels for adjusting how to attack — something that all coaches should do, though it’s easier said than done. While Jacobs may not have been seen as the most appealing fantasy option before the season, he (and the Raiders themselves) certainly shut up any and all critics for at least another week Sunday.

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