BroBible
The Las Vegas Raiders fell to the Los Angeles Chargers in Monday Night Football during Week 2 action. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty was a storyline after the loss.
His effort was questioned by NFL viewers due to a missed read in pass protection. It came during a frustrating night in which he saw his usage dip.
Jeanty was the team’s first pick in the 2025 Draft, going at No. 6 overall. He found an immediate spot in the starting lineup, picking up 19 carries in his debut and finding the endzone.
The running back saw his carries decline in Game 2. He was also seen struggling in pass protection when not getting the football.
Ashton Jeanty casually letting his QB get rocked. He’s not looking good in pass pro. #Chargers #Raiders pic.twitter.com/wxvJipdvP0
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) September 16, 2025
On one particular play, he was seen jogging as quarterback Geno Smith ran for his life. Rather than attempt to pick up a block, he watched from the background.
The clip offered a stark contrast to what was seen in Week 1.
Against the Patriots, Jeanty took pride in his pass blocking. He was seen successfully picking up blitzers on numerous occasions to give his signal caller more time in the pocket.
Jeanty had a great game picking up blitzes in pass pro. A few of his blocks here. pic.twitter.com/Y25wx7qneU
— Marcus Johnson (@TheMarcJohnNFL) September 9, 2025
That wasn’t the case on Monday, at least not on this now-viral clip. With that being said, it’s just one play. Still, should the failures in pass protection continue, it will lead to less time on the field.
Some of that was due to score. Las Vegas trailed for the majority of the game. Some might’ve been due to Ashton Jeanty’s struggles.
Last week, he took 19 of the team’s 24 carries. This week, he toted the rock on 11 of the team’s 19 tries.
The Raiders abandoned the run game late. Jeanty was replaced by Zamir White and Dylan Laube for third-down and two-minute situations.
Had protection been better, he might’ve seen more opportunities in passing downs. Despite the rough outing, Jeanty took ownership for his mistakes.
“We didn’t protect for the quarterback,” he said in a postgame interview. “Us as running backs, we could’ve done a better job at picking up some of those blitzes.
“We didn’t really get to establish the run game, so they weren’t respecting the play action. We got a lot to fix… I’ve got to be a lot better.”
“Last week, (the running game issues) were on me… I’ll put it on myself again this week.”
-Ashton Jeanty
He also spoke on his dip in carries.
“I’ve got to continue to work with what I get, whether it’s 10 carries, 15 carries, 20 carries,” he said. “Whatever the volume is, I’ve got to keep...
