Ashton Jeanty didn’t hide his thoughts on the New York Jets when the Raiders running back spoke to the media ahead of Las Vegas’ Week 8 trip to MetLife Stadium.
“Yeah, I think we can definitely get the run game going [this week]. Get back on track. A couple guys out there [for the Jets] that don’t really want to tackle, but I’m not going to say names.”
Jeanty’s comment landed squarely in the middle of a Jets defense that has had real issues getting off the field. New York has not been a complete disaster against the run, but the tackling numbers have slipped enough to notice. Pro Football Focus has the Jets at 21st in the league with a 12.9% missed tackle rate, with 11 teams missing a higher share of their chances.
Still, the film paints a different picture than Jeanty’s wording. The Jets’ missed tackles have generally come from being too aggressive, not from any lack of effort.
They play hard. At times, they just lunge a little too far and whiff.
Their bigger problems have been discipline and angles.
And lately, the whole defense has been leaking production. Since Week 3, New York ranks third-worst in the NFL in first downs allowed per game at 23.4. The run defense has been hit especially hard, giving up a league-worst 9.2 rushing first downs per game over that span.
That sets up an odd matchup in Week 8, because Las Vegas has not exactly been lighting it up on the ground either. Over the Raiders’ four-game losing streak, the rushing attack has gone cold. Since Week 4, the team ranks last in the league in rushing yards per game at 55.8 and yards per rush attempt at 2.8.
Jeanty, the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, has been right in the middle of that slump as the starting running back. Among the 27 running backs with at least 70 carries, his 3.1 yards per attempt is the worst in the league. He has scored only one touchdown.
The irony of him taking a shot at New York’s tackling is that his own tape shows the same kind of problem, just on the other side of the ball. He has forced only 10 missed tackles on 106 carries, per PFF, and his 0.094 missed tackles forced per carry also ranks last among those 27 backs. He sits 22nd with 2.6 yards after contact per carry.
The Raiders’ blocking up front has not helped. PFF has Las Vegas 26th in team run-blocking grade at 54.5. But Jeanty has also made the job harder by not creating much on his own, and his numbers are a continuation of what he put on tape as a rookie, when he averaged 3.7 yards per attempt.
For now, the headline is simple: Jeanty went after the Jets’ tackling, but his own run game has left him with plenty to answer for.
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