The Las Vegas Raiders lost a heartbreaker to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, falling 30-29 in overtime to drop to just 2-6 on the season.
There was plenty of blame to go around in the defeat, but Raiders insider Hondo Carpenter has zeroed in on one particular variable that he feels may have cost Las Vegas the game: Ashton Jeanty’s touches.
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Jeanty carried the ball just 13 times for 42 yards on the afternoon, and Carpenter made it clear that the Raiders should be getting the rookie running back the rock more.
“Ashton Jeanty, 13 carries for 42 yards. That’s too low of a number,” Carpenter said. “That number needs to be closer to 25. That’s an atrocious number. If I’m Pete Carroll … I’m telling the coaching staff to meet me back at headquarters, and I’m asking Chip Kelly, ‘What are you thinking?'”
Jeanty has accumulated 19 rushing attempts over the last two games, although the Raiders deserve somewhat of a pass for Week 7 when he toted the ball six times in what ended up being a 31-0 loss. Hard to run the ball when you are getting routed.
Las Vegas selected Jeanty with the sixth overall pick of the NFL Draft back in April after the 21-year-old put together a historic run at Boise State. During his final collegiate campaign, he finished just 28 yards shy of breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, racking up 2,601 yards - as well as 29 touchdowns - on the ground.
That success has not quite translated onto the professional level just yet. Through eight games, Jeanty has registered 487 yards and three scores while averaging a mere 3.9 yards per carry.
In fact, Jeanty has logged under four yards per attempt in five of his seven contests, with his best performance to date coming on Sept. 28 when he racked up 138 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a loss to the Chicago Bears.
Of course, it’s not like the Raiders present an ideal situation for Jeanty, so it’s definitely fair to give him some time. But this is also not what Las Vegas was expecting when it drafted him back in April.
The Raiders will face the Denver Broncos this Thursday.
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