ALAMEDA – Raiders running Josh Jacobs had 112 rushing yards on 23 carries on Sunday against Cincinnati, the fourth time the rookie hit triple digits this season.
Jacobs couldn't have cared less.
Quarterback Derek Carr completed his first 14 passes and hit on 24-of-29 passes for 292 yards and a triple-digit passer rating.
That stat line was met with a shrug.
The Raiders will gladly take a 17-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, but they openly acknowledged an underwhelming offensive performance that must be improved against better competition.
"We could have had more," Carr said. "Honestly, that's how I feel. I left the game and I get our stat book and I looked at it and I was like, 'They look pretty, but I could have played better.' I'm hard on myself. … I think that's the standard that Coach Gruden puts on me."
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Jacobs felt the same way, disappointed to leave plays unmade despite several highlights during the game.
"We left a lot of points out there as an offense," Jacobs said. "I missed a couple holes. Honestly, It wasn't a great game for me. I had 100-and-something yards or whatever, but there's a lot to improve on."
The Raiders offense had been humming. The unit had scored at least 24 points in six straight games over a 4-2 stretch. The unit was balanced, steady and impactful against some solid teams, creating the expectation that the Raiders should go off against a Bengals team ranked 22nd against the pass and dead last against the run.
That didn't happen. The Raiders weren't bad, either. Not by a long shot. They converted half of their third- and fourth-down attempts. They accumulated 386 yards of offense and had nine explosive plays of 20 yards or more.
They misfired a few times, which bothered both Carr and Jacobs after this win. Jacobs fumbled in the red zone – that's a major no-no – and Carr threw his first interception since Oct. 20 when Bengals safety Jessie Bates III cut off a pass intended for Hunter Renfrow.
"[Josh] never wants to put the ball on the ground," Carr said. "I threw an interception, he fumbled. If Coach is going to put the ball in our hands every single play, one of us, then we need to be better."
[RELATED: Jacobs hit hard by Tua injury]
This was a day where the Raiders held Cincinnati to 10 points, and just a field goal after the opening drive. After having to win so many high-scoring games, the offense didn't have to do much in this one. They were productive but not efficient enough scoring, and the Raiders playmakers believe it didn't do well enough even though the box score looks good.
"I'm never into fantasy stats or my stats or anything like that," Carr said. "I'm into doing whatever Coach Gruden wants me to do at a high level. I didn't do that well enough today."
