How bad was it for Josh Jacobs on the ground Sunday? That’s a long answer. The short answer is abysmal. Historically bad, in fact.
At some point in the game, Jacobs had rushed six times for -6 yards. Yes, you read that right. NEGATIVE SIX YARDS. And he had crossed the line of scrimmage just once.
Buy Raiders TicketsBy the end, he had nine carries for a total of -2 yards rushing.
No rushing title holder in the modern era has had a game this bad. No NFL running back the past 15 years. And no Raiders running back in nearly 60 years.
#Raiders Josh Jacobs had -2 yards on 9 carries. Last player to carry ball 9+ times and end up with negative yards DeShaun Foster (-5 on 9 carries for Panthers vs Saints 11/25/2007). Only other Raider to do it was Clem Daniels (once in 1964 and once in 1966)
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) September 17, 2023
Jacobs’s previous career low for a game was 16 yards. That came on seven carries. His career low with at least nine carries was 24 yards. So, this performance was as many as 26 yards below his previous worst game.
Jacobs isn’t blameless in this. After missing all of training camp while refusing to sign the franchise tender, he is clearly not looking like he’s up to speed.
That being said, he was routinely met in the backfield by defenders after the Raiders offensive line was beaten by the Bills defensive linemen.
To Jacobs’s credit, he did manage to put up 51 yards on five catches. But that’s not his primary job. In that regard, Jimmy Garoppolo was getting less than no help from the ground game.
Wherever you choose to place the blame, the result was the same for the Raiders. A dead-in-the water, 38-10 shellacking in Buffalo.
