Ashton Jeanty puts injury concerns to rest in Raiders’ promising Week One win over Dolphins

LAS VEGAS—For weeks now, the concern surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders was the status of running back Ashton Jeanty.

Despite dodging the worst-case scenario and only suffering an ankle injury late in training camp, the Raiders had every reason to be cautious about the sophomore running back. However, the coaching staff spoke about how Jeanty was on the mend, and his participation in practice suggested that he was going to give it a shot in Week One. Still, there was always going to be some risk, and it was unclear how the Raiders would approach Jeanty if he was anything less than 100 percent.

However, those concerns turned out to be completely unfounded, as Jeanty emerged as an offensive engine that helped to drive the Raiders to a 27-13 victory in Week One over the Miami Dolphins.

“I felt good. Once everything happened, I knew I was going to be ready for Week One,” said Jeanty about preparing himself for the regular season despite the turmoil.

“Just putting in the work and also our training staff is one of the best. They did a good job of getting me back healthy.”

All of the effort that went into Jeanty’s recovery paid off spectacularly, as he was arguably the best player on the field at Allegiant Stadium. Not only did he look one hundred percent healthy, but he was also being able to break off chunks of yardage with regularity.

Unsurprisingly, he paced the backfield with 23 carries for 102 rushing yards, but what was more intriguing was how he was utilized as a receiver. Jeanty quickly earned the trust of Kirk Cousins, tying with recently extended Michael Mayer for the team lead with six receptions while leading with 45 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Those two would also carry some significance for Cousins, as the first marked the 300th passing touchdown in the veteran quarterback’s career, and the second put him in sole possession of 13th all-time in passing touchdowns, overtaking Denver Broncos legend John Elway.

“I think it’s just a testament to trying to win the long game, trying to have good habits over a long period of time,” said Cousins about reaching such major career milestones.

“I feel like it’s also a testament to the people I’ve been able to work with, coaches, the players around me. Really grateful for all the people involved in being able to do that.”

For the most part, Cousins played a clean game, including completions on all ten of his first pass attempts. It was not a perfect game from the veteran with two interceptions, but he played more than well enough to lead the Raiders to a victory.

“I thought he came ready to play,” said Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak on the play of his quarterback. “He had a great start to the game. Two decisions that he’s got to have back. That’s the nature of the position, so that’s something we’re going to get fixed and get cleaned up but, overall, he played winning football.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders saw positive impact from the trenches, which is comforting for a team that invested so much on the lines this offseason.

The offensive line did not allow a single sack against Cousins and stayed relatively strong throughout the contest. On the other hand, new edge rusher Kwity Paye had as strong a first impression as a Raider as he could have hoped for, posting two sacks to lead the team. Maxx Crosby would pick up 1.5 sacks for himself, new linebacker Nakobe Dean chased down Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis in a major momentum-shifting sequence and Folorounso Fatukasi picked up a half sack.

“We got to watch the tape, but I love the way our defense played,” said Kubiak. “How they swarmed, how they turned the ball over, how they responded to sudden change. Very proud of them.”

Staying with the defense, the unit did an excellent job keeping the Dolphins’ skill players in check throughout the game.

Willis did some damage with 220 passing yards and running for the only Dolphins touchdown, but he did make some mistakes, including throwing into double coverage that was picked off by Treydan Stukes for the rookie’s first career interception. Running back De’Von Achane was held largely in check, with only 36 rushing yards on 11 carries and 30 receiving yards on four receptions. Rookie Caleb Douglas did some damage (five receptions, 94 yards) but the Raiders did a good job keeping everyone else contained.

The defense would also be the ones to ice the game, when Jeremy Chinn punched the ball out of the hands of Dolphins receiver Malik Washington and the fumble was recovered by Quay Walker, adding an exclamation point to a tremendous day.

Even special teams got in on the fun, with Dylan Laube and Malik Benson breaking off big gains in the return game, while AJ Cole would get a punt that would be recovered at the Miami three-yard line to push the Dolphins back. Outside of a 75-yard kickoff return from Jaylen Wright that ultimately did not lead to any consequence from Miami, Joe DeCamillis’s group put together a quality effort.

“So many phases of football and people contributed and that’s the way Klint wants it to be and it should be around here,” said Cousins on the complete effort of the Raiders. “I was proud of the way our team played and fought.”

Most importantly, the crowd would force two delay of game penalties on the Dolphins, underlining the genuine excitement that is building around the Raiders.

“We watched a really cool video about the history of the Black Hole and the Silver and it made a big point of earning our way to make this our house,” said Kubiak on the importance of Raider Nation’s support.

“Just the support we had, how loud it was on the first drive throughout the game, it was special. It’s what this building can be and, obviously, it’s up to us to earn the respect of those fans.”

With their next opponent in the Los Angeles Chargers looking more vulnerable than expected, the Raiders will have their focus set on keeping the momentum going and securing a 2-0 start next Sunday.

Now that would give the Raiders faithful a reason to get excited.