The Las Vegas Raiders have utterly wasted Ashton Jeanty's rookie campaign. It is wild to think that a little over six months ago, both the organization and much of the fan base felt like the Raiders were just an Ashton Jeanty away from being a competitive football team.
Obviously, that was a misdiagnosis, as everything has crumbled around the first-year running back. This offensive line is one of the worst in recent memory of the league, and it's hard to imagine that Jeanty has learned very much during this campaign, other than how to take an NFL hit. A lot of them.
This is a bad spot for Las Vegas to be in, as on the one hand, they should want Jeanty to get as many reps as possible so he can learn on the job and make his mistakes now, when the games don't matter. On the other hand, Jeanty is a big part of the future, and he is taking so many inconsequential hits.
Ashton Jeanty used the only word possible to describe Raiders' outing vs. Eagles
Things certainly weren't better in Week 15, as the Raiders got trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 31-0 for the second time this season. After the game, Jeanty spoke with the media, and he gave a handful of blunt responses following the defeat.
"That was an embarrassing performance by us, as a team."Ashton Jeanty after loss to Eagles
Short and simple. Straight to the point. And painfully accurate. Jeanty didn't lose much in college at Boise State, so this campaign has surely been a whirlwind for the young player. When asked if Sunday's loss was a breaking point, Jeanty brushed off that notion in an unsettling way.
"I wouldn't say a breaking point, we're still losing," Jeanty said. "At the end of the day, the breaking point would be us getting a win and playing better than we did today."
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How bad do things have to be so that a win is actually a breaking point? This would indicate that the Raiders are so used to losing that a win would actually be the team giving way. Again, an astute observation from Jeanty, who realized what a dumpster fire this organization is after just 14 games.
Until the trenches are built out in Las Vegas, things won't change. Until Pete Carroll and his staff get fired, things won't change. Until they actually land on a head coach and quarterback combo that makes sense, things won't change.
Jeanty, Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby should be at the center of another gigantic rebuild for the Raiders this offseason. Sunday's game was emblematic of the fact that this team is miles away from being competitive, and Las Vegas' star rookie running back didn't pull any punches in admitting that.