Indianapolis Colts at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Raiders to watch in Week 14

Indianapolis Colts at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Raiders to watch in Week 14

Raiders Running Backs

We’ve already established that the Colts are a far better passing defense than the Jets so a performance like last week by Derek Carr and the passing game is unlikely. However, the Colts’ run defense is not nearly as formidable as their pass defense so the Raiders need to win that battle.

Indianapolis has given up over 100 yards rushing in 6 of their 12 games.

Josh Jacobs practiced on a limited basis this week but according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the team expects him to play. This is a quick change from what Jon Gruden said earlier in the week where he stated that he did not expect Jacobs to play.

We’ve seen Jacobs play through injuries before so it wouldn’t be surprising, but a hobbled Jacobs could be ineffective which could lead to more carries again this week for Devontae Booker.

Booker will need to show a lot more than he did last week against the Jets as a balanced offense of attack will be far more necessary this week. The Raiders are at their best when they can control the tempo of the game and dominant time of possession, and that all starts with the run game.

This is also a strength of the Colts as both teams rank 10 in an average time of possession (LV 7th & Indy 9th). So a strong run game this week will not only keep the offense on schedule, but it could prevent the Las Vegas defense from succumbing to an equal amount of long drives when they’re on the field.