But contemplating if Jeanty was a bust after three games is as much a waste of energy as it would be to call him the Second Coming after one game against the Bears, right?
“He looked awesome,” Crosby said. “Everyone has their opinions about [stuff] in September and … now they’re going to jump on the bandwagon. It’s simple [stuff]. This happens every year.
“He’s an incredible player. He’s going to keep getting better. I love the way he works. He’s a hell of a player.”
So was it just a matter of time before Jeanty had this kind of game?
“He shows it every day,” Crosby said. “He shows it every day. Even his numbers leading up to this game – he has more yards after contact than total yards. I don’t even know how that’s possible. He’s an animal.”
Raiders coach Pete Carroll was happy not only for Jeanty, but for the offensive line.
“To see Ashton get cooking like that, you can see how special he is,” Carroll said. “They can’t tackle him in the open field and he makes it look easy, which really good players do. So, we’re very fortunate that this game finally came. We’ve been waiting for it, and everybody felt like it was just an eyelash from happening, and now that he’s busted, you can see it.”
Still, even in becoming the first Raiders rookie running back to score a rushing TD and a receiving TD in the same game since Bo Jackson at Seattle on Nov. 30, 1987, there were two yards Jeanty and the Raiders wished he could have added.
It was 3rd-and-2 at the Bears 35-yard line with 43 seconds to play. And despite stalwart left tackle Kolton Miller being carted off the field with a sprained right ankle one snap earlier, the call was for Jeanty to run to the left side.
Miller’s replacement, Stone Forsythe, and left guard Dylan Parham, seemed to have a miscommunication and Jeanty was stuffed for a one-yard loss.
On trotted Carlson and, well, you know the heart-breaking rest.
And yet…Jeanty said any success he had was due to his O-line, as oft-maligned as it’s been.
“I feel like I’ve been making them look bad,” Jeanty said. “It was a great game out there. I was able to see everything, great movement off the ball. We were able to wear those guys down.”
Which made Jeanty and his statement game the epitome of bittersweet.
“Most definitely,” he said softly. “One hundred percent.”
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