Josh Jacobs gives Raiders offense needed balance

The Raiders’ current four-game win streak did more than just get them to the playoffs for the first time in five years. It also helped them locate a run game that had been missing for far too long.

In particular, they found Josh Jacobs, who is coming off a 139-yard performance against the Los Angeles Chargers and has rushed for more than 100 yards in two of the last three games — his only two 100-yard games of the season.

Jacobs’ late-season emergence has coincided with the improved play of the offensive line, which has shown steady growth. That is reflected in the reinvigorated ground attack.

“I feel like we have been getting better each week at running the football,” said Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia. “There is a certain trust factor in there between Josh and the offensive line.”

The reawakening of Jacobs and the improved play up front — coupled with the return of Darren Waller on Sunday after missing five games with injuries and the improving chemistry between Derek Carr and Zay Jones — sets up the offense as well as it’s been all year.

“I feel like we’re a better team today than we were at the beginning of the year,” Carr said.

And just in the nick of time as they prepare to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday in an AFC Wild Card playoff game.

The balance that Jacobs provides the attack means Carr is no longer tasked with having to throw for more than 300 yards in order for the Raiders to win.

At one point this year, the Raiders were 6-0 in games in which Carr threw for 300 yards or more, and 0-5 when he finished under that mark.

“I remember sitting here and saying, do we have to throw for 300 yards to win a football game?” Carr said. “Because that’s what the stats said.”

Not anymore.

In fact, with the run game now turning the corner, the Raiders have won four straight games and Carr has thrown for fewer than 300 yards in every one of them.

That was never more evident than on Sunday. Jacobs shouldered most of the load in overtime against the Chargers by rushing for 69 yards to help set up two Daniel Carlson field goals. Jacobs openly campaigned for the role late in the regulation, urging coaches to call his number as many times as needed.

“When the four-minute mark came before overtime, I told them I’m the closer,” Jacobs said. “That’s what y’all brought me here for. Let me close.”

He reiterated the point to offensive coordinator Greg Olson when the Chargers pushed the game to overtime.

“I looked at Oly and I said ‘It’s time,’” Jacobs said. “We collectively came together — the offensive line, DC, everybody — and just made it happen.”

Even when the Raiders struggled to run the ball earlier this season, they never completely abandoned it knowing at some point, by remaining committed, it would pay off. Slowly but surely, that has happened. In turn, it has helped open things up for Carr and his receivers.

“To get those explosive runs helps the pass game, helps the play-action game, makes the windows bigger, all those things,” Carr said.

The return of Waller should also help. He and Carr just missed hooking up on a couple of big plays on Sunday, which is understandable given how long Waller was sidelined.

“There was some rust there and some miscommunication … that’s easily fixable,” said Carr.

If so, the Raiders will be as balanced as they have been all season against the Bengals, especially with Jacobs coming on late in the season

“That we don’t have to throw it 50 times to win every game is nice,” Carr said. “But we’ve also proven that if we have to do that, we can win that way as well. So, we’ll see what this game has for us. But you always hope to stay balanced and try and keep them honest.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.