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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — There was a sense of satisfaction on the face of Josh Jacobs on Sunday as the All-Pro running back made his way through the Las Vegas Raiders‘ victorious locker room in Denver.
Even if he was anything but satisfied.
After all, the Raiders got the win and Jacobs — after sitting out OTAs, training camp and the exhibition season in a contract stalemate — emerged healthy enough. It was just …
“We had a lot of runs that was really close [to breaking],” Jacobs said. “It’s just the small details. Not only that, man, I’ve got to knock the rust off, too. It was a few plays where I felt like I tripped up a little bit. Plays that I knew I could have made or reads that I was kind of a little late on. It’s going to come with me, man, working at practice and trying to get that back with not being here in the offseason.”
Jacobs, who did not sign his $10.091 million franchise tag by the July 17 deadline but signed an adjusted one-year deal worth up to $12 million with bonuses, had owned the Broncos in his career to the tune of 721 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns and 15 catches for 158 yards in seven games prior to Sunday (all Raiders wins).
But Jacobs did not dominate the Broncos in his usual fashion in the opener. His 2.5 yards per carry average was the third-lowest single-game average of his career, as he rushed for 48 yards on 19 carries — though he did catch two passes for 23 yards.
And he did land the block that sprung quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for his 8-yard scramble on third-and-7 to seal the game.
Still, Jacobs obviously wanted more, and seeing the New York Jets rush for 172 yards Monday night against the Buffalo Bills, whom the Raiders will play on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Highmark Stadium, CBS), has to open his eyes. As does seeing Jets running back Breece Hall, in his first action since tearing an ACL in Week 7 last year, run for 127 yards on 10 carries against the Bills.
Jacobs is still rounding into football shape, even as he played 47 snaps at Denver. Consider: Jacobs averaged 48 snaps per game last season as he led the NFL in rushing yards (1,653), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and touches (393).
Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said he was not surprised with Jacobs’ relatively high snap count, given his offseason absence.
“It was an interesting game because I think he played in the teens [in snap count] in the first half, and normally you’d like your play count to be a little higher,” McDaniels said. “So, just by the nature of how the game went, I didn’t think we would be able to push it to 65 or 70. But because we were so low in the play count in the first half, I felt like we would just let him kind of determine how he felt as he went into the second half.
“Nobody is more critical of his own performance than J.J., so he’ll see things that he can do better, and he’ll work really hard at improving, as will our team. So, I was not surprised that he was OK to do it, and like I said, the game was a little strange in that regard.”
At Buffalo, Jacobs and the Raiders will be facing a team not only hosting its home opener, but one also desperate not to fall into an 0-2 hole.
Plus, despite surrendering so many yards on the ground to the Jets, the Bills return the NFL’s No. 5-ranked rushing defense.
“At the end of the day, I like, I trust and believe in the guys that we’ve got around, the receivers and the quarterback, the whole line,” Jacobs said. “If I’m having a bad game or if it’s not a running game, then we can still come out and pull out a win.”
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