Josh Jacobs went past the Seahawks defence… again and again… and he just kept going. On Monday Night Football, almost precisely 35 years after Bo Jackson’s spectacular sprint into the Kingdome tunnel, another Raiders running back enjoyed a historic night in Seattle at the cost of the Seahawks.
Jacobs rushed for a franchise-record 229 yards to lead the Seahawks to a surprising 40-34 loss on Sunday, capped by an 86-yard walk off run in overtime.
A few minutes later, Jacobs could be seen racing off the field and up the tunnel in the southeast corner of Lumen Field, pointing and shouting at a Seahawks jersey-wearing spectator. “You’re to blame!” Jacobs screamed at the spectator. “I warned you! I warned you! “I warned you!”
There was little finger-pointing in the home locker room after the Seahawks allowed 576 yards of offence, the third-most in team history. The Seahawks’ failure to stop the run has been a recurring trend this season, one they believed they had remedied.
However, the Raiders followed the lead of the 49ers and Buccaneers by using a fullback (Jakob Johnson) on several of their run plays on Sunday, setting the stage for Jacobs’ breakout.
“That was another issue for us. “This is old-school football,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll remarked. “There’s nothing new about that.” It’s simply that it’s different, and we haven’t adjusted to it in either of the previous two years (games). … We need to play better than we are against two-back things. It couldn’t be any clearer. It’s as straightforward as it gets. (It’s) something we’ll look into.”
Jacobs wasn’t even sure he’d play Sunday after sustaining a calf injury in the Raiders’ overtime win over the Broncos last week. He worsened the injury against the Seahawks in the fourth quarter, but he informed trainers he felt strong enough to play.
“Coming in not knowing whether I was going to play, staring them in the eyes and telling them they’re going to get all they could out of me,” Jacobs said in the visitors’ locker room. “They didn’t want me to finish the game, but I persuaded them that I could.” Following that, the game’s greatest play occurred.”
Jacobs scored on a 30-yard run in the second quarter, stiff-arming Seattle’s 330-pound nose tackle, Al Woods, on the way, and then went unchallenged in overtime, rushing right through the heart of the Seahawks’ defence.
Jacobs had six catches for 74 yards as well. According to NFL Research, he is the only player since at least 1950 to have rushed for at least 225 yards and received for at least 70 yards in a same game.
“He’s difficult to pull down.” He’s a tough runner with excellent balance. “You’ve got to wrap him up,” said Seahawks defensive tackle Shelby Harris. “He’s not one of those backs that is touched and falls.” He makes his living by breaking tackles and gaining additional yards.”
The Seahawks gave up a season-high 283 running yards, and they’ve given up 566 yards on the ground in their last three games. “We simply need to be more physical,” said line backer Jordyn Brooks. “The guys must take on blocks and make tackles.” We can’t afford to miss tackles. That’s really what it is.”
The Seahawks mainly succeeded in one of their key aims on Sunday, limiting Raiders top receiver Davante Adams to seven receptions (on 11 targets) for 74 yards. For the most part, he was a non-factor. However, as Carroll recognised, focusing so much on Adams created unanticipated space for Jacobs.
“We have to address that,” said safety Quandre Diggs of the run defence. “We repaired it for a while, then it reared its head again.” At the end of the day, we won’t be able to do anything unless we halt the run. It begins with everyone.”
