Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said Friday that RB Josh Jacobs is doubtful for Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins. Jacobs missed the Raiders Week 2 road matchup with the Steelers. In his absence, RBs Kenyan Drake and Peyton Barber had expanded roles.
Last week, Drake ran for 9 yards on 7 carries and caught 5 of 6 targets for 46 receiving yards. Barber ran for 32 yards on 13 carries.
The Raiders were inefficient running the football in Jacobs’ absence. The team is currently tied for second to last in the NFL with only 134 rushing yards in two games, and are last in the NFL with only 2.9 yards per carry.
“We feel pretty good honestly,” Gruden said about the combination of Drake and Barber. “We got to get them some better looks in our running game. We misfired on some assignments. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to run the ball better collectively, it’s not just the back and his statistical data.”
“We’ve got to block better, we’ve got to call better plays, we’ve got to execute better. Running the ball these first couple weeks has been obviously not good enough.”
LG Richie Incognito will also miss Sunday’s game with a calf strain. John Simpson will continue to fill the left guard spot. At right guard, Jermaine Eluemunor will continue to fill in for Denzelle Good, who is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Safeties Dallin Leavitt and Roderic Teamer have also been ruled out.
Gruden was asked about the performance of the combination of Simpson and Eluemunor at the guard positions.
“We have to play better. We’ve got to keep getting better. They’re both doing some good things but we all have to do better. We’ve got to coach better, we’ve all got to play better. Miami is going to force us to do that if we want to win this game.”
The Dolphins will be without QB Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered fractured ribs in Miami’s 35-0 Week 2 loss against Buffalo. Meanwhile, Dolphins WR Will Fuller V will make his team debut after missing the first two weeks of the season due to suspension and a personal issue.
The Raiders host the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium at 1:05 p.m. PST on Sunday.
Safeties Dallin Leavitt and Roderic Teamer
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