Ballers: RB Josh Jacobs, FB Alec Ingold, C Rodney Hudson
The offense got off to a good start with Jacobs getting the ball. His first carry went for six yards with key blocks from Ingold and Hudson. Jacobs would pick up 19 yards on his first four carries. Then they went away from him and saw their first three drives stalled.
Come their final drive of the first half, they found themselves behind 14-10. On the first play, Carr found Jacobs in the left flat, and he took it for 17 yards. That drive would get to midfield in 4th and one, and it was Ingold who got the call up the middle where he pushed through for the first down. The Raiders would drive inside the ten, and in third and one from the 9-yard-line, Gruden called his signature Spider 2 Y Banana, which is a swing pass to the fullback. Ingold executed it flawlessly for the touchdown.
The Raiders were back in scoring position to begin the third quarter. In 2nd and ten from the 12-yard-line, Jacobs got the handoff and went up the middle for 8 yards with Hudson laying one of the key blocks. They would get a field goal out of it.
What really earns them a spot together among this week’s Ballers was what they did on third and one from the LA 18-yard-line with 1:06 left in the game. The Raiders were down 24-20, so only a touchdown would do. Jacobs got the handoff and went straight up the middle with Ingold ahead of him.
Hudson made this play happen. He snapped the ball, instantly saw Brandon Mebane shading into the hole. He nudges Mebane enough for Richie Incognito to engage with him head-on.
Then Hudson comes off of Mebane in an instant and drives linebacker Drue Tranquill to the left where he is met head-on by Ingold. With Mebane and Tranquill both cleared out of the hole, Jacobs shoots through the gap and goes 18 yards to paydirt for the go-ahead score.
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