Raiders’ Jacobs to Play vs. Chiefs After Father Underwent Heart Surgery

The NFL’s league-leading rusher spent the week away from the team after his father had a serious health scare.

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher through 17 weeks, will suit up and play against the Chiefs on Saturday after spending several days this week in Tulsa with his father Marty, who underwent heart surgery on Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. 

Jacobs, who had also been dealing with hip and oblique injuries throughout the week, had been considered questionable to play in Las Vegas’s season finale. When he asked his father what he should do on Friday, Marty Jacobs said he wanted his son to play. 

As a result, Jacobs booked a private jet and flew back on Friday night to Las Vegas to prepare for Saturday afternoon’s kickoff. 

The Jacobs family had quite a scare this week when Josh’s six-year-old son Braxton found his grandfather in pain and called 911 on Tuesday, according to Pelissero. Marty underwent surgery on Wednesday and remains hospitalized in intensive care, but plans to watch his son try to seal the league’s rushing title Saturday.

Jacobs enters Week 18 well clear of second-place rusher Derrick Henry, boasting 1,608 rushing yards compared to the Titans’ star’s 1,429. That means barring a historic performance from Henry, the Raiders ballcarrier is poised to claim the first rushing title of his career.

Though it’s been a memorable season for Jacobs individually, the year will be one to forget for the Raiders. In Josh McDaniels’s first season as coach in Las Vegas, the team stumbled to a 6–10 record and is already eliminated from playoff contention going into Saturday’s game. 

The Chiefs, meanwhile, have a chance to lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win over the Raiders. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.