Ashton Jeanty is averaging 3.2 yards a carry, and the Las Vegas Raiders running back says he is not worried about it. Asked on Friday whether it is hard to stay patient when he wants to break out, Jeanty said: “Nah, I mean, everything’s going to happen the way it needs to. I know, you know, guys got a plan for me, and in the game of football, you know, you got to be patient.”
He added: “Things aren’t going to always go your way, but you got to continue to put the work in no matter what, what the result is.” Jeanty has 313 rushing yards on 98 carries this season, with one rushing touchdown. His only 100-yard game came in Week 1, when he ran 23 times for 102 yards against Miami. In the last two games, losses to New England and Buffalo, he ran 20 times for 49 yards. He has been more useful as a receiver, with 26 catches for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
“It doesn’t matter who I line up against”
Jeanty said this week’s practice was “really good,” with more feel for the run game. “Definitely feeling confident in what I can go out there and do on Sunday,” he said. Asked whether being healthier has helped, he said it was more about repetition: “Having more reps at practice, you know, getting more confidence built by, you know, repping the things we’re going to do in the game.”
He described his own job in the scheme simply. “I got to run great tracks and, you know, get up on the second level, make defenders miss,” he said. Sunday he faces the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald. “Obviously growing up watching him, you know, great player, explosive,” Jeanty said. “But, you know, I’m confident in us and, you know, it doesn’t matter who I line up against. I’m just ready to go play.”
Michael Mayer: “I’ve totally moved past that”
Tight end Michael Mayer has 28 catches for 266 yards and one touchdown in six games, close to his career highs of 35 catches and 328 yards from last season. Asked what keeps him the same through coaching changes, he pointed to his faith. “There’s been some ups and downs in this organization for me the past three years, but I’ve totally moved past that,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the present and the future.”
He said he changed his routine to stay on the field. “I’ve really, really put a big focus on keeping myself healthy this year, getting in the training room, doing soft tissue, doing yoga, keeping everything loose,” Mayer said. He credited head coach Klint Kubiak’s game plans for letting him “play free,” and said quarterback Kirk Cousins “calms everybody down.” Playing next to Brock Bowers, he said, his job is simple: if the first or second read is covered, “Kirk’s coming to me for the third read, or the fourth read, or the check down. So, just being, doing my job, being where I need to be, and the ball finds me.”
Center Tyler Linderbaum said of Mayer: “You just root for guys like that who come in, work each and every day, practice their tail off.” He called Mayer and Bowers “two of the best tight ends in the league.” On Donald, he said: “I have to understand where he’s at at all times.”
The Raiders are 3-3 after three straight losses, including 33-30 to Buffalo last week. They host the 2-4 Rams at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, which is 11:25 p.m. in Cairo.
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