The Las Vegas Raiders have an elite running back in Josh Jacobs, and he put the team on his back in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.
The Las Vegas Raiders hit the road to open up their new Era of football, traveling to the East Coast to take on the Carolina Panthers. In what would turn out to be a back-and-forth battle, the Silver and Black came away with the victory, thanks to their elite running back, Josh Jacobs.
The Panthers got on the board first, thanks to a 47-yard field goal from Joey Syle, but the Raiders answered back in style. During a drive that featured a 40-plus yard connection from Derek Carr to rookie Henry Ruggs III, the Raiders took their first lead of the game thanks to a one-yard touchdown by star running back Josh Jacobs.
It did not take Carolina long to retaliate, as they marched right down the field and got their first touchdown of the season thanks to Christian McCaffrey. Carolina was aided by a missed holding call earlier in the drive, but a Syle missed extra point only gave them a 9-7 lead.
Carr and the offense took over for their next drive and methodically moved down the field, going 73 yards in 15 plays, but were stopped inside the red zone. A Daniel Carlson 20-yard field goal gave the Silver and Black the lead back, but Carolina continued to go blow-for-blow with Las Vegas.
The Panthers drove down the field after the Carlson field goal, but the Raiders defense held late, holding them to three. Las Vegas’ next possession saw Ruggs leave due to an ankle injury, though it also featured free agent Nelson Agholor making a big statement with his first catch of the day, a 23-yard touchdown from a perfectly thrown ball by Carr.
Carolina answered with a field goal right before the half, giving the Raiders a 17-15 lead entering the break.
After forcing their first punt of the game, Las Vegas got a tremendous return from Hunter Renfrow, and despite an intentional grounding from Carr, the Raiders were able to come away with 3 thanks to a 54-yard field goal from Carlson. Thanks to a Mo Hurst sack, the Raiders forced another Panthers punt, as they looked to put the game away.
The Raiders did just that, as Carr drove his offense down the field, and the drive was capped off by another touchdown from Jacobs. That put the Silver and Black up 27-15, but this game was far from over.
Carolina scored 15 unanswered points, taking a 30-27 lead with 8:29 left in the game, but the Raiders did not go away. Las Vegas saw Jacobs score his third touchdown of the game, putting them up 34-30, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
There was a lot to be excited about, and a lot to be worried about heading into their Week 2 matchup at home against the New Orleans Saints.