Bills Vs. Josh Jacobs: Who’ll Stop the Run Against Raiders?

The Buffalo Bills gave up 172 rushing yards in their Week 1 loss against the New York Jets. And now along comes Josh Jacobs …

Jeremy Brener | Sep 13, 2023

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If the Buffalo Bills want to bounce back with a win on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, they have to stop last year's rushing champion Josh Jacobs.

Jacobs ran for 1,653 yards last season and gave fits to teams week after week. Now, he'll be tasked with doing that to a Bills team that surrendered 172 yards on the ground in Monday night's loss against the New York Jets.

"Physicality at the point of attack is important for us," coach Sean McDermott said via the team's website. "Use of our hands to get off blocks and defeat blocks and then tackling overall, I think that's going to be important as we continue to move throughout the season here."

Breece Hall Jordan Poyer Jets — Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Jacobs struggled in his debut, managing just 48 yards on 19 carries against a stiff Denver Broncos defensive line. … though Vegas was able to secure a 17-16 win.

Meanwhile, in Buffalo … The Week 1 performance from the defensive line was very uncharacteristic compared to last year. In 2022, the Bills ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, trailing only the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. However, no team struggled more to defend the run in the openers than the Bills.

Granted, Jets running back Breece Hall's 83-yard run was an outlier, but the team still needed to improve on that aspect of the game.

If the Bills can't find a way to clean it up this week, they could face an 0-2 hole to begin the season for the first time since the 2018 season. Buffalo and Las Vegas kick off at 1 p.m. on Sunday inside Highmark Stadium.

Published Sep 13, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.