If you were at all plugged in during the 2024 college football season, you knew that there was good reason why Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was receiving the type of hype that's reserved only for generational prospects. The Heisman Trophy runner-up nearly broke Barry Sanders' long-standing single-season rushing record, and ran the Broncos into the College Football Playoff.
Jeanty's rookie campaign hasn't been as productive as Las Vegas Raiders fans hoped, though by no means has it been the failure that some are making it out to be. Playing behind an offensive line that's among the most inept in the NFL hasn't helped matters, but still, heading into Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, Jeanty had rushed for 700 yards and 4 touchdowns while contributing an additional 4 scores as a pass-catcher.
But on Sunday, the Texans got a taste of the Ashton Jeanty almost everyone expected to see upon the 6th overall pick's arrival in the NFL. Jeanty tuned the best rushing defense in the NFL up for 128 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, while adding another score on a 60 yard touchdown reception. Considering the caliber of opponent he was facing, it was Jeanty's best game of the season, and afterwards, the Texans could only tip their caps to the player who almost single-handedly bested them in Week 16.
“I’ve never been in the game and actually like stopped and was like: ‘man this man’s a dog,’” Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said after the game, according to Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press. “A ton of respect for him. He’s going to be a really good player in this league. Tough back, tough runner, hard to bring down. He’s going to do a lot of great things in this league.”
"Break tackles, low center of gravity. You know, you see what he did out there. I think he's going to be a great player in his league," Danielle Hunter added. "There's a reason why he went the pick that he went. Being able to keep staying up, making plays, jumping out of tackles. We knew on film that he was going to be able to do stuff like that."
By himself, Jeanty rushed for more yards against the Texans defense than all but two teams have this season. His 188 total yards of offense were second most by a Raiders rookie in franchise history behind only a 235 yard performance by Bo Jackson in 1987.