Chiefs know they must deal with a ‘dynamic, violent runner’ in Raiders’ Josh Jacobs
The Chiefs’ defense turned in a gem in Week 4 by producing four turnovers in a 26-10 win over the New England Patriots.
Kansas City might have to duplicate the effort Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
And unlike facing a Patriots offense without quarterback Cam Newton and running back Sony Michel, the Raiders will have starting signal-caller Derek Carr and featured rusher Josh Jacobs ready to roll.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Jacobs, in particular, is a load.
“This is a dynamic, violent runner,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “I think he puts his head down and gets a lot of extra yards. He’s kind of a stocky, thick guy.”
Spagnuolo would know all about what Jacobs is capable of doing from last year’s meetings against the Raiders, of course.
Then a rookie, Jacobs totaled 203 yards rushing on 29 carries in two games against the Chiefs. He finished the 2019 season with 1,150 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Now in his second season, Jacobs anchors the Raiders’ ground game with 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 83 carries through four games. He’s also shown receiving skills out of the backfield with 13 catches for 100 yards on 17 targets.
The Raiders liked Jacobs enough in 2019 to use a first-round pick (24th overall) on him. And so far, so good in Jacobs’ development into one of the NFL’s better well-rounded rushers.
“We think he is one of the top backs in the league,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Thursday during a teleconference. “He’s really improved in the passing game. He’s able to come out of the backfield and do a lot of things and he’s learning, I think, to be a three-down, every-down outstanding player.”
Given Gruden’s evaluation, it wouldn’t surprise if the Chiefs see a healthy dose of Jacobs, who averaged a highly-respectable 7 yards per carry in the two games against Kansas City last year.
Las Vegas’ running game also enters Sunday’s game ranked 15th in the league (115.3 yards per game) and faces a Chiefs defensive unit ranked 28th against the run (161 yard allowed per game).
Kansas City also comes off a game in which the defense allowed Patriots running back Damien Harris to total 100 yards on 17 carries. As a team, the Patriots gained 185 yards on the ground against the Chiefs.
Given recent struggles against the run and a history facing Jacobs, it’s no wonder he and and the Raiders’ ground game have the Chiefs’ attention leading to Sunday’s game.
“I’m really impressed with him,” Spagnuolo said. “I know they are because they feed it to him.
“The thing that impresses me the most is not only can he get to the edge with the speed, but he’s one of those guys that just sticks his foot in the ground and can make that cut and get north. Our backside guys have to be on point to control this running game.”
Meanwhile, Week 5’s game within the game provides a classic matchup of perceived strength — Jacobs and the Raiders’ running game — against an apparent weakness: the Chiefs’ run defense.
Gruden, however, knows what’s on paper doesn’t often tell the whole story and he’s preparing for a challenge even with Jacobs in tow.
“We just got to help him and we’re doing some good things offensively,” Gruden said. “But we’ll have a very, very tough task ahead of us at Arrowhead Stadium.”
