Ashton Jeanty isn’t telling the Las Vegas Raiders need to run the ball more after starting the 2025 NFL season 1-4 and riding a four-game losing streak, but the rookie running back hinted that he wants to carry this offense.
There isn’t much to celebrate after a 40-6 loss. However, Jeanty continued to impress, finishing with 67 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards to eclipse 100 yards from scrimmage.
It marks the second straight week the former Boise State standout has delivered a strong performance after a slow start to the season. That showing followed up his breakout game against the Chicago Bears, when he piled up 138 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
Before the Week 6 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Jeanty spoke with reporters on October 8 and said that his effort in practice and in games should show the coaches he’s ready to take on a bigger workload.
“I don’t even think it’s more of something that I have to say,” Jeanty said. “I think it’s just through the work I put in in practice, just showing my coaches that I’m consistent and then come game time, like whenever they do give me the ball, I make plays and show them that I’m a reliable person each and every single week.”
Ashton Jeanty Wants Raiders to Get Better
Despite his performance against the Colts, the 21-year-old didn’t focus on his stat line and stated that the reason for the loss to the Indianapolis Colts was not taking advantage of trips to the red zone and finishing drives with touchdowns.
“I mean, as an offense, we just didn’t finish drives in the red zone,” Jeanty told reporters postgame on October 5. “I mean, to me, that’s it. Get to the red zone [and] you got to put points on the board (…) [We’ve] just got to get better. I mean [we’ve] got to capitalize in the red zone right now. I think [we’re] probably one of the worst teams in the red zone.
“[We’ve] got to get better. And on third down, fourth down, [we’ve] got to be better. So, I can’t say there’s a specific answer. [We’ve] just got to go back, watch the film, then everybody look in the mirror and see how [they] can get better.”
Can Raiders QB Geno Smith Improve?
One area that clearly needs work is the quarterback play, as turnovers remain a persistent problem for Geno Smith. In the loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Smith completed 25 of 36 passes for 228 yards but threw two interceptions, extending his ongoing struggles with turnovers.
Smith was brought in to give the young Raiders offense some veteran leadership. Instead, it’s the 34-year-old who’s been making the kind of mistakes usually seen from rookies or second- and third-year players.
Nonetheless, don’t expect the head coach, Pete Carroll, to make changes under center for now.
“Here’s the reason why I didn’t do that: We need to stay out there and keep practicing, “ Carroll said postgame when asked if there was a thought to bench Smith for Pickett. “We need to keep practicing, we need the reps, we need the turns, we need to run the system, we need to feel it, we need to see the guys get the opportunities to improve.
“I thought about it because there was a chance to do that. … That’s not what’s necessary. We need to get better and get right, so these are the games that we’re working on, and these are the games that we learn from and grow from so that we can change the course of the way games are going.”
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