Josh Jacobs had “Pops” written into his eye-black sticker under his left eye. He dedicated Saturday’s game to his father, Marty Jacobs, who underwent emergency heart surgery Wednesday.
“I wasn’t gonna come back. For me, [it’s] family always before anything,” Jacobs said after the game, via Willie Ramirez of the Associated Press. “Especially the severity of what was going on, what’s currently going on. But my dad had woke up and he told me he wanted me to play, so that’s why I’m here.”
Jacobs, who has had hip and oblique injuries, did not practice this week while dealing with the family emergency in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jacobs’ 6-year-old son, Braxton, found Marty Jacobs in pain Tuesday and called 911.
Marty Jacobs remains hospitalized in intensive care.
The Raiders left the decision up to Jacobs whether to return.
“That’s what made coming back good,” Jacobs said. “The whole team, even people upstairs that don’t really work with me every day. I definitely got that love and that support. . . . Everybody had my back and they knew it wasn’t really about football, so I appreciate them. That’s just the love that they got for me and I got the same type of love for them.”
Jacobs took a private plane back to Las Vegas on Friday night, slept four hours and, after receiving treatment Saturday morning, was cleared to play. He rushed for only 45 yards on 17 carries in the 31-13 loss.
Jacobs finished the season with a league-leading 1,653 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Browns running back Nick Chubb goes into Sunday’s game with 1,448 yards, and Titans running back Derrick Henry had 1,429 yards before tonight’s game started.
