On Monday, October 30, 2023, at Ford Field in Detroit, running back Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions scores a touchdown during an NFL game versus the Las Vegas Raiders.(Photo by Paul Sancya/AP)
Every team in the NFL’s Monday night game in Week 8 began with an Alabama running back.
Josh Jacobs and the Las Vegas Raiders were defeated 26–14 by Jahmyr Gibbs and the Detroit Lions, with the rookie recording his first-ever 100-yard running performance in the NFL.
The 2022 NFL rushing champion, Jacobs, tied Bobby Humphrey’s 1989 accomplishment for the most 100-yard games as a Crimson Tide rookie in 2019. Jacobs had five such games in 2019.
In Monday night’s game, Gibbs became the 11th rookie from Alabama to score 100 yards in a game, and it was the 27th time that had occurred.
Gibbs didn’t stop there, though.
With 26 carries for 152 yards and one touchdown, Gibbs recorded the second-most rushing yards of any rookie from Alabama in an NFL game. In a 26-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns on January 3, 2022, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris broke the record with 188 yards and one score on 28 rushing attempts.
Gibbs amassed 189 yards from scrimmage against the Raiders with five receptions for 37 yards; no other rookie from Alabama has ever surpassed this total. Harris gained 188 yards on the ground, and added 206 yards from scrimmage with three receptions for a total of 18 yards.
Leading the Raiders in rushing and receiving yards on Monday night, Jacobs rushed for 61 yards and one touchdown on 15 rushes in addition to catching two catches for 27 yards.
Jacobs led the Las Vegas offense to their lone touchdown of the contest. With 2:56 remaining in the first half, he scored on a 3-yard run to trim the Lions’ advantage to 9–7. He carried on seven of the Raiders’ ten plays and gained 38 of the 60 yards generated by the Las Vegas offense on the drive.
When Gibbs burst loose for the longest run of his six-game NFL career, the Raiders were still behind by two. At 3:13 of the third quarter, he scored on a 27-yard carry to put Detroit ahead 23-14.
For the rest of the game, Las Vegas failed to snap the ball on Detroit’s end of the field.
RELATED: ROUNDUP OF ALABAMA NFL WEEK 8
Six more Alabama high school and college players joined Gibbs and Jacobs in the Las Vegas-Detroit game:
Running back, raiders Homewood’s Ameer Abdullah ran seven yards and caught twelve.
· Daniel Carlson, an Auburn native and Raiders kicker, converted both of his game-winning extra point attempts. While Carlson is sidelined due to a groin injury, kicker James McCourt was elevated to the practice squad by Las Vegas last week in order to play on Monday night. However, Carlson was capable of performing the tasks.
· Lions blocking end In his NFL debut, Brodric Martin (Northridge, North Alabama) made one tackle.
· Raiders Dothan outside linebacker Malik Reed is not eligible to participate; he is on the practice squad.
· Jameson Williams (Alabama) made his Lions wide receiver debut. Williams gained 16 yards off two receptions.
· Alabama defensive tackle Byron Young of the Raiders was declared inactive for the game.
