More Info Surfaces About Jeanty’s Role Swap After Raiders Win

The Las Vegas Raiders made a dramatic switch at running back in their 38-33 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, and we’re learning more about how it happened and the logic behind it, with Ryan McFadden of ESPN taking a deeper dive into the process. 

Most of this seemed to be about running back Ashton Jeanty, who’s been struggling mightily this year. Nonetheless, Jeanty made some comments about New York Jets defenders who were reluctant to tackle, saying that seeing it on the tape “excited” him. 

This drew the quiet ire of coach Klint Kubiak, who doesn’t appreciate this sort of thing at all. Kubiak has a subdued media presence, to say the least, but he didn’t respond right after the comments happened. 

He certainly did before and during the game, though. Jeanty said it was “communicated” to him before the game that he would get fewer opportunities in the run game with rookie Mike Washington Jr. . being the team's featured running back, according to McFadden. 

Jeanty added that he was unsure whether his comments led to Kubiak's decision, which doesn’t align with how we’ve seen Kubiak operate in this area before. The running back added several generic comments about winning, that’s the only thing that matters to him, it doesn’t matter how much he gets the ball and so on. 

Instead, Jeanty became the receiving back -- almost exclusively. This was both pointed and unusual, to the point where it became obvious what the Raiders were going to do depending on which running back was in the game: Washington was a run, Jeanty was a pass. 

That’s very unconventional, but it worked, mostly, in this particular game. Washington had a good day on the ground, at least by Raiders standards, and Jeanty was a productive day as a receiver in the passing game. 

Kubiak denied what he was doing despite the obviousness of the move, saying that Jeanty is going to play a big role in the running game going forward. 

Right now, though, it’s hard to think that’s going to happen. Jeanty continues to dig a hole for himself with poor performance, although this was his first noteworthy media transgression. 

More to the point, he was stoned the first time he carried the ball, getting a yard when the Raiders needed two for a first down. What Kubiak was looking for was performance, and a first down might have gotten Jeanty back in the coach’s good grace. Instead, he created more doubt about his ongoing status, with Washington solidifying his role as lead back by getting it done on the field.