Evaluating Josh Jacobs Season

The Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs enjoyed a Pro Bowl year but did see a regression in certain areas of his game

The Las Vegas Raiders season will be finished after this Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, which means that it’s a perfect time to reflect on the impact players had on this year’s team.

In terms of looking at players most directly responsible for the Raiders' success or lack thereof this season, Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs is going to be at the top of the list.

Being selected to his first Pro Bowl this season, the Raiders running back currently ranks sixth in the league in yards with 976 and eighth in touchdowns with a career-high 10.

Despite having 16 more carries than he had in 13 games last season though, his efficiency has fallen from averaging 4.8 yards per carry during his rookie year to a less impressive 3.8 this season.

When it comes to the advanced stats, he’s also seen multiple regressions in his sophomore season.

Jacobs has fallen off significantly in being able to generate yards after the first contact, with 479 of those yards this season compared to 683 in 2019.

He’s also on track to have broken fewer tackles this year, as he has 19 this season, unlike the 26 he had last year.

Going back to more basic stats, he’ll also finish with at least two fewer 100-yard games this season than he had in 2019.

Jacobs had five of those games last year, and he currently has only two games this season in which he’s rushed for that total.

One area that has had improvement is his production in the passing game, having 33 catches this season, an increase from the 20 he had in 13 games last year.

It’s short of the goal Jacobs had before the season when he said he wanted to catch upwards of 60 balls. 

Even just modest improvement though should still mean good things for the Raiders' offense.

Taking all the numbers into account, it can’t be denied that Jacobs had a less than stellar follow up to his great rookie season.

Even in a down year though, he’ll still finish with some of the best numbers among running backs in the league.

Once the Raiders can have a full offensive line healthy and more weapons on the outside, it’s likely Raiders fans will see the ultimate version of Jacobs emerge. 

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