Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs would not be denied.
Jacobs, fighting to help his team win their second-straight game in a prime time match up with the New York Jets, decided to take charge. He ran with a renewed vigor, intensity and outright brutality against one of the league’s best defensive fronts. When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Jacobs had his best game of the season rushing for 116 yards on 27 carries, earning every yard in a way that woke the echoes of great Raiders of the past.
It was tough. It was hard. It was the Raider Way.
The Raiders’ new identity under interim head coach Antonio Pierce has ignited a wave of persistence, poise and hard work missing earlier this season. The Raider Way has been restored. No one exemplifies that better than Josh Jacobs.
Jacobs may be leading the way, but the palpable difference in team attitude and the relationships inside the locker room is one of belief. Belief in one another and belief in their new leadership.
“I mean, I think it’s good just because we know what type of team that we have. And to be able to see even when it’s not perfect, to still squeeze out the wins, I think that speaks volumes to what this team is trying to do and where are we trying to go,” Jacobs said after the win Sunday night. “I tell people all the time in the locker room, don’t blink because this is not a fluke. To me, it’s not a fluke. What we put in, the work that we put in, I feel like it’s going to pay off. And hopefully we continue to keep doing that.”
Like their first win under Pierce, Jacobs’ recent success and the win against the Jets meant more than just their fifth of the season. It meant more as the men surrounding him evolved and adapted in the face of adversity. The game was fun again, sure. But the Raiders and Jacobs have been through too much not to appreciate how far they’ve come in a short time.
Josh Jacobs helps teammates find the ‘Raider Way’
No one exemplifies that better on offense than Jacobs himself. With linebacker Robert Spillaine and defensive end Maxx Crosby awakening the memories of Raiders greats of the past, Jacobs has turned the corner and in the process changed the team’s fortunes.
The most gratifying part of the win for Jacobs and the Raiders against the Jets was they had to scratch and crawl to earn it. The Raiders were missing some key players, losing right offensive tackle Kolton Miller to a shoulder injury during the week and cornerback Amik Robertson in the first half to a concussion. Add in rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell still learning and finding his way, it wasn’t going to be easy.
Despite a tough first half, Jacobs didn’t back down. He gained with a former Raiders legend.
“So, I talked with Bo Jackson this week, and he just told me, he said, ‘Man, you run them off like an RB, you pick them up, you say alright, I’m going to come back 40 seconds later,’” Jacobs said. “I tried to have that mentality today.”
Jacobs wanted to be the guy who took his team on his shoulders as Jackson told him to do. Jacobs delivered a gritty, bruising effort. He also offered feedback to the Raiders coaching staff, challenging them to go to him more. New interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree listened, as did Pierce.
“The thing that I like about Bo the most is obviously he takes his chances and things like that. But he also listens to the other coaches,” Jacobs said. “And then if we feel like something’s not working, or we feel like we didn’t get to a play that we needed to get to, he goes in there and he listens to the coaches, and then he goes out there and calls it.”
Jacobs’ second-half performance changed the game. Jacobs finally found daylight through the New York defensive line and broke tackles en route to an explosive 40-yard run. It was his longest run of the season and set a tone that rallied his team on both offense and defense.
Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams acknowledged how the different approach and Jacobs’ recent success has changed the entire attitude and approach on offense and how it has brought him and his star running back closer together.
“We’ve done more talking probably in this last week and a half or so then we ever have as far as that type of problem solving and making sure we complement one another,” Adams said about his relationship with Jacobs. “He’s a great runner and he does a good job at making good choices. So, we just got to make sure we continue to do that and keep pushing and moving forward.”
Leading on and off the field for Las Vegas Raiders
During this mini-Raiders resurgence, Jacobs hasn’t just upped the ante on the field with his bruising running style. Off the field, he’s become a significant leader in the locker room and even offers guidance and advice to his rookie quarterback. He’s all in on the Raider Way and his unbridled commitment to bringing it back is clear.
The Raiders, while enjoying the past two weeks and are feeling good, must now take on two of their biggest challenges of the season in road games against the high-flying Miami Dolphins and familiar foe Kansas City. Unlike a few weeks ago when the team seemed lost and struggling to find their identity, both Jacobs and his team have found it and are focused on being the best they can be.
How far the newly rediscovered Raider Way can take them in 2023 is unknown. But the way Jacobs has focused on leading his brothers wearing silver and black into battle, I wouldn’t bet against them doing bigger and better things down the stretch.