Raiders RB Josh Jacobs makes unflattering NFL history with poor outing vs. Bills

Jacobs also had an embarrassing moment in the third quarter. After he appeared to catch a checkdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Bills linebacker Matt Milano snatched the football away with the vigor of a schoolyard bully, dwarfing the Raiders running back despite being only an inch taller (6-foot).     

The 2023 season is still in its infancy, but concern over Jacobs' play through the first two weeks has to be growing. Jacobs wasn't much better last week against the Denver Broncos, finishing with 48 yards (19 attempts) while averaging only 2.5 yards per carry. In fact, after catching five passes for 51 yards on Sunday, Jacobs has more receiving yards (74) than rushing (46) heading into Week 3. 

Early-season struggles aren't uncommon for running backs and it's important to remember that Jacobs is coming off a 340-carry season, 67 more carries than his previous career high. Nevertheless, it's hard to find instances where Jacobs performed so poorly two weeks in a row.

Coming into Sunday, Jacobs had never finished a game with negative yards over 61 career contests in which he received a carry. Meanwhile, he'd been held to less than 50 yards in back-to-back games only twice, both occurring during the 2021 campaign. 

It's hard to pile on Jacobs when the rest of the Raiders offense seems asleep at the wheel. After all, only wideout Davante Adams had more targets (eight) in the passing game than Jacobs' six against Buffalo. However, to say the Raiders need more from Jacobs would be a massive understatement.