The Las Vegas Raiders opened the Allegiant Stadium with a bang and won an exciting overtime game 33:27 against the Baltimore Ravens. It’s been a great start into 2021 for Jon Gruden and his squad, but from here it gets tougher. The Silver and Black travel east this week to the home of the Black and Yellow: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Raiders will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a major AFC match, but now they have to forego one of their most dangerous offensive weapons.
Josh Jacobs is out of action for the Las Vegas Raiders Week 2 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to injury
Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (# 28), tight end Darren Waller (# 83) and teammates | Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images.
Josh Jacobs, who returned from Alabama for the third year of the Las Vegas Raiders, was a key to victory for the team on Monday night.
The Oklahoma native ran just 34 yards for 10 carries and had a catch for six yards. However, these raw numbers don’t tell the full story. Jacobs had a 2-yard touchdown plunger and a 15-yard scoring scramble in the second quarter to open the wild fourth quarter.
The expanded stats also show how well Jacobs played despite struggling with toe and ankle injuries in Week 2, fifth among the RBs with 10+ carries. He also managed 0.44 missed tackles per attempt, placing him fourth in the RBs with 5+ carries in Week 1.
Even hobbling, Jacobs was a large part of the raiders’ offensive attack. In order to fill in his footsteps, several players will have to move up. That includes his instant backup as well as a raiders duo who may not be able to do more than they did on Monday.
The Kenyan Drake has to step up in Jacob’s absence
#Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, who was out of training this week due to toe and ankle injuries, was banned against #Steelers. The Kenyan Drake is the next man.
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 17, 2021
The next man on the Raiders’ depth map is the off-season free agent who signs Kenyan Drake. The running back, also from Alabama, is a six-year veteran who has played for the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals.
That off-season, Drake signed a two-year $ 11 million deal with Las Vegas to keep the team as primary backup and third place.
In the opener against Baltimore, Drake Jacobs spelled beautifully and put on decent numbers. He finished the game catching five of five targets for 59 yards. In terms of rush, however, he did not do well and only won 11 yards with six carries.
Peyton Barber takes on the role of the backup and likely leading short yard rusher. The Washington Football Team stopped running during camp and the Raiders picked him up. He didn’t play in the first week of Monday Night Football competition.
No matter how the Raiders split the RB workload, sledding could be tough this weekend. The Steeler defense is tough and limits the powerful Buffalo Bills to just 371 yards on the overall offense in Week 1.
The Raiders must also get their patched offensive line ready for action. The team lost Guard Denzelle Good for the Year to a knee injury in their last game, and the other starting supervisor, Richie Incognito, is still out with a calf injury.
If the game in progress slows down in the absence of Jacobs and problems on the offensive, it will put even more pressure on the Raiders’ greatest threat: Derek Carr versus Darren Waller.
The Raider QB was 34 out of 56 for 435 yards on Monday, and 19 of those targets, 10 of the catches, and 105 of the yards went to its tight end Waller. No other Raiders pass-catcher came close to this type of workload. According to Waller, Hunter Renfrow had nine targets, and Drake, Bryan Edwards, and Henry Ruggs III were all shared with five each.
The Carr-to-Waller combo wasn’t just the leading hookup in the game. It was the most active quarterback-to-receiver combination in the league. Only Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys came close with 17 goals.
To beat Pittsburgh, Carr and Waller must play another big game together. Without Jacobs, however, Drake and the talented young Las Vegas WR trio will have to come to play too.
It’s going to be a tough competition, but one that the Las Vegas Raiders can win if they truly are the playoff team they and many of their fans believe they are this season.
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference
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