Josh Jacobs describes Raiders sideline without Jon Gruden: ‘It was like [there was no] anxiety’

The Raiders played their first game without Jon Gruden on Sunday against the Broncos. By Josh Jacobs’ estimation, it went well.

Not only did the Raiders emerge with a 34-32 victory over their division rival, but Jacobs liked what was happening on the Las Vegas sideline.

“Man, the sideline … it was like [there was no] anxiety,” Jacobs said, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It was weird. It was like everybody was calm. You didn’t have somebody cussing at you, or going crazy at the refs. None of that.”

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Jacobs is obviously referencing Gruden, who resigned from his post on Monday, Oct. 11 after emails sent by him containing racist, misogynistic and homophobic language became public. Gruden was noted for his antics and anger on the sideline, and that’s part of the reason he was given the nickname of “Chucky” during his NFL days.

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In Jacobs’ opinion, interim coach Rich Bisaccia was a nice change of pace. The team seemed to bring “the right type of energy” under his watch during their Week 6 victory.

“It was like, ‘OK, not going to harp on it, next play,’” Jacobs said when discussing the team’s miscues. “The guys all kind of motivated each other. You saw a lot of defensive guys standing up and offensive guys jumping off the bench when the defense made plays. I was like, that’s the right type of energy that we needed. I loved it.”

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The sideline energy translated to tangible production on the field. The Raiders’ 34 points were a season-high and the team racked up 426 yards of total offense. Jacobs had 82 total yards and a touchdown, marking his best game of the 2021 NFL season to date.

Las Vegas will look to continue its winning ways as they take on the Eagles at home in Week 7. If Bisaccia can continue to build chemistry and trust with this Raiders roster, then the energy should stay up.

Either way, it seems like the Raiders, including Jacobs, are buying into their new coach’s philosophy early on.