Pete Carroll on Ashton Jeanty's struggles: 'He'll get more carries'

Copied!

For Pete Carroll’s 74th birthday, the Las Vegas Raiders offense laid him an egg.

The Raiders couldn’t find paydirt in Monday night’s 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, consistently sputtering, while generating 218 total yards, few explosive plays (three over 20-plus yards), and no semblance of sustainability.

No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty has come out of the gate slowly. Following a 38-yard, one-TD output in Week 1, the running back saw just 11 totes on Monday, gaining 43 yards with a long run of 13. For the season, Jeanty is averaging 2.7 yards per carry through two weeks.

Following the loss, Carroll cautioned patience with the rookie.

“We’re just getting started (with Jeanty),” Carroll said via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He’s breaking into the NFL. He’s figuring it out. He’ll get more carries. We have to run the ball more effectively. We only got (68 yards), and that’s not enough. We need more than that. We’re bringing (Jeanty) along. More will come.”

A run game that was expected to be the engine of the Raiders’ offense was anything but against the Chargers. Vegas handed the ball off just 14 times, with Geno Smith attempting 43 passes. It’s not a balance that Chip Kelly’s offense will succeed with moving forward.

The O-line has struggled to open holes through two games, but Jeanty showed some rookie struggles on Monday. He went the wrong way on one handoff and missed a blocking assignment on one of three Chargers sacks. There were a few flashes in his limited touches, but they were few and far between.

“Last week it was on me, I didn’t go a good job of reading the plays. I’ll put it on myself again this week,” Jeanty said. “Could’ve broke for bigger on some runs and O-line did their thing. I’ve just got to continue to get better so I can be a game-changer for us.”

He added: “Just getting used to the speed, honestly. Last week kind of felt like I was moving a little slower, this week felt better. Still not there yet, but once it happens, it will be good.”

Through two games, Jeanty’s 30 carries rank tied for 13th among running backs. His 81 rush yards are the fewest among all players with at least 30 totes.

The back-to-back struggles to open the season marked the first time Jeanty has had fewer than 45 rush yards in consecutive games since 2022, his freshman season at Boise State.

Read More