Once Josh Jacobs slipped past the last line of Seattle’s defense on Sunday, all that was in front of him was open field and a place among the greatest single-game performances in NFL history.
Jacobs sprinted 86 yards (79m) for a game-ending touchdown and the Las Vegas Raiders won in overtime for a second straight week, beating the Seattle Seahawks 40-34.
“When I hit the gap, I see a big hole and I just tried to run as fast as I can,” Jacobs said.
Photo: AFP
Jacobs finished with a franchise-record 229 yards rushing and two scores. He also had six catches for 74 yards, and his 303 yards from scrimmage were the most in franchise history and the seventh-most in a game in the Super Bowl era.
Jacobs had never had a touchdown run longer than 28 yards, and his extraordinary dash was reminiscent of the Raiders’ Bo Jackson running untouched for a long touchdown against the Seahawks at the Kingdome on Nov. 30, 1987.
Not bad for a guy who had been listed as questionable for the game with a calf injury. There was nothing uncertain about Jacobs’ play once he took the field.
“To see him finish like that, I know what he’s been dealing with, I know how hard he works. It was really cool to see that,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said.
Las Vegas (4-7) finished with 283 yards rushing and its 576 total yards were the third-most ever allowed by the Seahawks (6-5), who fell one game behind San Francisco 49ers in the National Football Conference West.
“He’s hard to bring down. He’s a tough runner with good balance. You really gotta wrap him up,” Seattle defensive tackle Shelby Harris said. “He’s not one of those backs that gets touched and falls. He makes his money off of breaking tackles and getting those extra yards.”
Las Vegas forced overtime thanks to Carr’s five-yard touchdown toss to Foster Moreau in the corner of the end zone with 1 minute, 54 seconds remaining that made it 34-all.
Carr threw an interception on the first play of the game, but finished 25 of 36 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
The Raiders also got a break when Jacobs appeared to fumble inside the 10 just before Moreau’s touchdown catch, but officials ruled his forward progress had been stopped.
“It started from the first play to the last play. The first play is an interception and the last play is a touchdown,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “There was a lot of swings in the game.”
Seattle lost its second straight game after falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago in Germany. Geno Smith was 27 of 37 for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but Seattle’s rushing attack struggled for the second straight game, although Kenneth Walker III ran for two touchdowns.
In overtime, Daniel Carlson missed a 56-yard field goal attempt on Las Vegas’ first possession, but Seattle went three-and-out, and on the next play from scrimmage, Jacobs broke free.
“It’s kind of crazy, coming in and not knowing if I was going to play, looking the guys in the eyes and telling them they’re going to get everything they’ve got in me,” Jacobs said.
The 86-yard touchdown run was the fourth-longest overtime touchdown in league history.
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