Is Ashton Jeanty Injured? Why the Raiders RB Got Just Two Carries in the 38-33 Win Over the Jets

Fantasy managers and Raiders fans spent much of Sunday asking the same question: where was Ashton Jeanty? The second-year running back barely touched the ball on the ground in Las Vegas’ 38-33 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, finishing with a career-low two carries for 9 yards.

The answer, according to coach Klint Kubiak, had nothing to do with an injury.

Is Ashton Jeanty injured?

No. Jeanty was not on the Raiders’ final injury report for the game, USA Today’s For The Win noted, and he played in the game, mostly on third downs and in passing situations. After the win, Kubiak said limiting Jeanty’s workload in the run game was his call, ESPN reported.

Why wasn’t Ashton Jeanty playing more?

Rookie Mike Washington Jr. took over as the featured back. Washington got the first six carries of the game, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, and Jeanty’s first carry didn’t come until 4:34 remained in the second quarter. He didn’t get another handoff until the start of the fourth quarter.

Washington finished with 25 carries for 83 yards, the most rushing yards by a Raiders player since Jeanty’s 102-yard game in the Week 1 win over Miami, according to ESPN.

Jeanty said it was “communicated” to him before the game that he would get fewer chances in the run game with Washington as the lead runner.

“We won. It doesn’t matter how I feel about how [many] times I get the ball,” Jeanty said, per ESPN. “Whatever it takes for the team to win, I just want to win. That’s all.”

Was it about his comments on the Jets?

That was the immediate theory. During the week, Jeanty said the Jets “have a couple of guys out there that don’t really want to tackle,” and the Review-Journal said during the game it was unclear whether the change was discipline or performance-based.

Kubiak said afterward that the decision wasn’t a response to those remarks, ESPN reported. Jeanty said he wasn’t sure whether his comments played a role.

USA Today’s For The Win read Kubiak’s explanation as a performance call, pointing to Jeanty’s numbers: no 100-yard rushing game since Week 1, six games under 60 rushing yards and about 3.1 yards per carry before Sunday.

He still made a big play

Jeanty’s limited role didn’t keep him from affecting the result. On the first play of the fourth quarter he caught a short pass, bounced off the turf and raced 45 yards. That set up Kirk Cousins’ go-ahead touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor with 11:33 left. Jeanty finished with three catches for 64 yards, second on the team behind Brock Bowers (seven catches, 92 yards, two touchdowns).

“He’s a high-caliber person and had the same great attitude,” Cousins said, per ESPN. “He made a major difference for us in the pass game and in the run game.”

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Las Vegas.

What happens next?

Kubiak didn’t commit to a split going forward. “Ashton is still going to be a big part of our team,” he said. “He’s going to be a huge part of our run game going forward.” He added that the staff will “look at the film because we have two runners that we believe in.”

FAQ