The Las Vegas Raiders got their 2023 season off on the right foot, defeating the Denver Broncos by a score of 17-16. Josh Jacobs had 71 yards from scrimmage but knows he has much more to give.

Jacobs, who held out in the hopes of receiving a contract that he eventually received, said that being out helped keep him fresher for the season. Although the rest helped him avoid injury, it left him in a state of needing to catch up. He averaged just 2.5 yards per carry against the Broncos.

The Raiders running back said that he does have some rust to knock off, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.

“We had a lot of runs that was really close [to breaking],” Jacobs said, via ESPN. “It's just the small details. Not only that, man, I've got to knock the rust off, too. It was a few plays where I felt like I tripped up a little bit. Plays that I knew I could have made or reads that I was kind of a little late on. It's going to come with me, man, working at practice and trying to get that back with not being here in the offseason.”

Jacobs dominated last season to the tune of 1,653 yards on the ground. Getting him back to full form will be key for Las Vegas, though it may take a bit of time. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels admitted that he would have liked to get Jacobs more snaps in the first half. But part of it was just how the games played out. And McDaniels knows that Jacobs never needs a push to get motivated.

“Nobody is more critical of his own performance than J.J., so he'll see things that he can do better, and he'll work really hard at improving, as will our team,” McDaniels said, via ESPN. “So, I was not surprised that he was OK to do it, and like I said, the game was a little strange in that regard.”

Jacobs will look to shake off more rust in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, who allowed 172 rushing yards to the New York Jets in Week 1.