Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has always stood out, but in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, his unique approach became impossible to ignore. After weeks of struggling in a modified stance, Jeanty reverted to his trademark upright posture — a style some have likened to Michael Myers from the Halloween films. The result? A career-best performance: 138 rushing yards, 17 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in a narrow 25-24 loss.
“I loved it,” head coach Pete Carroll said Monday. Jeanty echoed that sentiment in his own news conference: “Sometimes, you’ve just got to prove that something can work and that’s all it is.”
The Michael Myers Look
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Jeanty’s upright stance has been with him since high school and carried him through a record-setting career at Boise State, where he finished as Heisman runner-up and posted 2,601 rushing yards in a single season. But when he entered the NFL, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly urged him to adopt a more traditional bent-knee stance, arguing it would give him better leverage.
“It’s a bent knee game,” Kelly explained in May. “All we’re trying to do is put guys in positions to make plays.”
Through three games, though, the experiment backfired. Jeanty averaged just 3.1 yards per carry and was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on over half his runs.
Ashton Jeanty Proving It Works
Against Chicago, Jeanty returned to what felt natural. He ripped off five runs of 10-plus yards, including a 64-yard touchdown, the second-longest in the NFL this season. “That’s how I naturally feel good standing in the backfield. So, that’s how I’m going to play,” Jeanty said.
His 155 yards from scrimmage more than doubled his production through the first three weeks, giving Las Vegas its most dynamic ground performance of the young season.
The Bigger Picture For the Raiders
The Raiders may have fallen to 1-3, but Carroll pointed to the rushing attack as a reason for optimism. “Everybody’s been saying [Jeanty] just needs to break one run or whatever. Well, he did, and he had a great game,” Carroll said.
The only damper came late when left tackle Kolton Miller suffered a high ankle sprain, an injury that could sideline him for weeks. Still, with Jeanty rediscovering his rhythm, Las Vegas may have found a spooky new weapon just in time for Halloween.