Raiders RB Josh Jacobs makes unflattering NFL history with poor outing vs. Bills
Like many on the Las Vegas Raiders, running back Josh Jacobs struggled mightily in Sunday's 38-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Only Jacobs' poor day was historic, for all the wrong reasons.
Jacobs had statistically the worst game of his career, finishing with -2 yards off nine carries while averaging an abysmal -0.2 yards per carry against the Bills. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Jacobs is the first defending rushing champion to finish with negative rushing yards in a game since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
Jacobs also had an embarrassing moment in the third quarter. After he appeared to catch a checkdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Bills linebacker Matt Milano snatched the football away with the vigor of a schoolyard bully, dwarfing the Raiders running back despite being only an inch taller (6-foot).
The 2023 season is still in its infancy, but concern over Jacobs' play through the first two weeks has to be growing. Jacobs wasn't much better last week against the Denver Broncos, finishing with 48 yards (19 attempts) while averaging only 2.5 yards per carry. In fact, after catching five passes for 51 yards on Sunday, Jacobs has more receiving yards (74) than rushing (46) heading into Week 3.
Early-season struggles aren't uncommon for running backs and it's important to remember that Jacobs is coming off a 340-carry season, 67 more carries than his previous career high. Nevertheless, it's hard to find instances where Jacobs performed so poorly two weeks in a row.
Coming into Sunday, Jacobs had never finished a game with negative yards over 61 career contests in which he received a carry. Meanwhile, he'd been held to less than 50 yards in back-to-back games only twice, both occurring during the 2021 campaign.
It's hard to pile on Jacobs when the rest of the Raiders offense seems asleep at the wheel. After all, only wideout Davante Adams had more targets (eight) in the passing game than Jacobs' six against Buffalo. However, to say the Raiders need more from Jacobs would be a massive understatement.
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