The Las Vegas Raiders’ open date didn’t dent running back Josh Jacobs’ momentum. Although the former Alabama ball-carrier did not establish a career single-game rushing high for the third straight contest, Jacobs came close while running for three touchdowns on Sunday.

In Las Vegas’ 32-23 victory over the Denver Broncos on Oct. 2, Jacobs ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries and caught five passes for 31 yards. That eclipsed Jacobs’ previous career high of 132 rushing yards achieved in the final game of the 2021 season against the Los Angeles Chargers.

In the Raiders’ 30-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 10, Jacobs ran for 154 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries and caught five passes for 39 yards to establish a new high.

In Las Vegas’ 38-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, Jacobs ran for 143 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 12 yards.

Jacobs reached the end zone on a 4-yard run with 5:48 left in the third quarter, a 7-yard run with 13:32 left in the fourth quarter and a 15-yard run with 7:06 left in the fourth quarter as the Raiders went from a 13-10 deficit to a 31-20 lead.

“I think it’s more of a credit to the offensive line,” Jacobs said. “I come back to them all the time. I feel like this is the first time in a long time where I’ve had four to five yards without being touched by anybody. They making it pretty easy on me, and I’m going to make sure that I take care of them.”

Jacobs became the second player in franchise history to run for three touchdowns in the second half of a game. Marcus Allen ran for three touchdowns in the second half of the Los Angeles Raiders’ 37-31 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 18, 1982.

Jacobs became the first player in franchise history with at least 100 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in three consecutive games and the first Raiders ball-carrier with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Napoleon Kaufman in 1997. The only player in franchise history with more than three consecutive 100-yard rushing games is Allen, who ran off 11 in a row across the 1985 and 1986 seasons.

Jacobs has developed a friendship with Allen since joining the Raiders, and the Pro Football Hall of Famer surprised the current running back after Sunday’s game.

“He didn’t tell me he was coming,” Jacobs said. “Right after the game, I talked to him. We had a long little conversation in the hallway. It’s been huge to see him, especially him being who he is and being a great running back in this game, to be able to take the time to mentor me and talked to me about things he’s seen and things like that. I don’t really take that for granted. It’s been huge. To be able to have him here and him be happy for me beating his record has definitely been huge to me.”

Jacobs is the seventh NFL player since 1950 with at least 143 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in three consecutive games. The most recent before Jacobs was another former Alabama running back, Derrick Henry for the Tennessee Titans in 2019. The other players to accomplish the feat are the Cleveland Browns’ Jim Brown in 1958, Buffalo Bills’ O.J. Simpson in 1976, Los Angeles Rams’ Eric Dickerson in 1984, Miami Dolphins’ Ricky Williams in 2002 and Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson in 2012. No player has put up those stats in four consecutive games.

Jacobs had scored three touchdowns in a game once before Sunday. In the Raiders’ 34-30 victory over the Carolina Pathers on Sept. 13, 2020, Jacobs ran for 93 yards and three TDs on 25 carries.

Jacobs was among the 42 former Alabama players who got on the field on the seventh Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

Five other former Alabama players were involved in the Houston-Las Vegas game:

· Anthony Averett started at free safety for the Raiders. Normally a cornerback, Averett returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games because of a broken thumb.

· Raiders guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) played but did not record any stats.

· Texans linebacker Christian Harris made one tackle in his NFL debut. The third-round draft choice missed the first five games of the season because of a hamstring injury.

· O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy) started at tight end for the Texans.

· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Baltimore Ravens 23, Cleveland Browns 20

· Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (St. Paul’s Episcopal) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper caught three passes for 74 yards, including a 55-yard reception. Cooper also caught a 34-yard touchdown pass that would have given Cleveland a 26-23 lead with 2:18 remaining in the game, but he was called for offensive pass interference on the play. The 55-yard reception was Cooper’s longest single play since he had a catch good for 69 yards for the Dallas Cowboys in a 37-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 27, 2020.

· Ravens running back Kenyan Drake had 5 yards on 11 rushing attempts after running for 119 yards on 10 carries in last week’s 24-20 loss to the New York Giants. Running back Gus Edwards, who had not played since the 2020 season because of a knee injury, returned with 16 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns for Baltimore.

· Browns running back Jerome Ford is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Browns tight end Miller Forristall is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Ronnie Harrison started at safety for the Browns. Harrison made two tackles.

· Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey made five tackles.

· Jedrick Wills Jr. started at left offensive tackle for the Browns.

Carolina Panthers 21, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3

· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers. After starting his final 48 games with the Baltimore Ravens, Bozeman did not play an offensive snap in his first six games with Carolina, which he joined as a free agent in the offseason. But Pat Elflein went on injured reserve on Saturday with a hip injury, clearing an opening for Bozeman in the lineup.

· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Buccaneers wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury sidelined Jones for the third game in a row.

Cincinnati Bengals 35, Atlanta Falcons 17

· Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) started at inside linebacker for the Falcons. Evans led Atlanta with 13 tackles. That’s the most that Evans has had in his 66 NFL regular-season games, eclipsing the 12 that he made in a 27-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 25. Four of Evans’ eight double-digit tackle games have occurred this season.

· Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley is suspended by the commissioner and not eligible to play.

· Jonah Williams started at left offensive tackle for the Bengals. Cincinnati compiled 537 yards on offense in the game.

Dallas Cowboys 24, Detroit Lions 6

· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Lions. Buggs made one tackle.

· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made one tackle, intercepted a pass and broke up another pass. Diggs intercepted Detroit quarterback Jared Goff on the third snap of the second half, coming down with a deep throw at the Dallas 15-yard line. Only one player since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 has had more interceptions in his first 35 regular-season games than Diggs, who got his 17th on Sunday. Everson Walls had 22 interceptions in his first 35 games with the Cowboys from 1981 into 1983. Dwight Hicks also had 17 interceptions in his first 35 games with the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 into 1981.

· Lions center Ross Pierschbacher is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Lions cornerback Saivion Smith is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.

New York Giants 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

· Giants safety Landon Collins made one tackle in his 2022 debut. He played for New York for the first time since Dec. 2, 2018. After that season, Collins left for Washington as a free agent. Released by the Commanders in March, Collins signed with the Giants earlier this month. New York elevated Collins from its practice squad to make him eligible to play on Sunday.

· Giants wide receiver Robert Foster is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Xavier McKinney started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made three tackles and forced a fumble. McKinney knocked the football away from Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne at the New York 5-yard line and safety Jordan Love recovered it in the end zone for a touchback to keep the Jaguars’ lead at 11-10 with 3:26 to play in the first half.

· Evan Neal started at right offensive tackle for the Giants. Neal left the game early because of a left knee injury and was carted from the medical tent to the locker room.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars. A shoulder injury caused Robinson to leave the game briefly.

· Jaguars safety Deionte Thompson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Tennessee Titans 19, Indianapolis Colts 10

· Colts cornerback Tony Brown played but did not record any stats.

· Titans defensive back Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Titans defensive end Da’Shawn Hand is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Henry ran for 128 yards on 30 carries and caught three passes for 10 yards. Henry recorded his third straight 100-yard rushing game and the 31st of his career (including three in the postseason).

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

Washington Commanders 23, Green Bay Packers 21

· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders.

· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made three tackles and registered a quarterback hit.

· Jarran Reed started at defensive end for the Packers. Reed made three tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage.

· Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson ran for 73 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 13 yards.

· Commanders wide receiver Cam Sims caught a 12-yard pass.

New York Jets 16, Denver Broncos 9

· Broncos linebacker Christopher Allen is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Kareem Jackson started at strong safety for the Broncos. Jackson made two tackles.

· Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Broncos. Jeudy caught seven passes for 96 yards. The seven receptions matched his career high established on Nov. 8, 2020, when he had seven receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown in a 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made eight tackles. Mosley intercepted a pass at the New York 33-yard line with 37 seconds to play, but the turnover was taken away after video review ruled the pass an incompletion. An incompletion on the subsequent fourth-down snap by Denver sealed the Jets’ victory.

· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made three tackles.

· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made four tackles, registered two quarterback hits and broke up one pass.

Seattle Seahawks 37, Los Angeles Chargers 23

· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 45.6 yards on six punts, with no return yards. Scott had a 50-yard punt returned for no gain at the Seattle 27-yard line, a 49-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Seattle 9, a 41-yard punt downed at the Seattle 7, a 50-yarder downed at the Seattle 2 and a 38-yarder downed at the Seattle 37.

· Seahawks long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on four extra points, three field goals and one punt.

Miami Dolphins 16, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

· Steelers outside linebacker Ryan Anderson (Daphne) recorded a tackle for loss.

· Raekwon Davis started at nose tackle for the Dolphins. Davis recorded a quarterback hit.

· Minkah Fitzpatrick started at free safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick made six tackles and broke up a pass at the goal line.

· Najee Harris started at running back for the Steelers. Harris ran for 65 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 15 yards.

· Steelers center J.C. Hassenauer played but did not record any stats.

· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 21-of-35 passes for 261 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in his return to the field. Tagovailoa missed the previous two games because of a concussion. Tagovailoa capped Miami’s first possession – a nine-play, 71-yard series – with an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Raheem Mostert with 10:45 left in the first quarter.

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle caught four passes for 88 yards.

· Levi Wallace started at cornerback for the Steelers. Wallace made three tackles.

Week 7 started on Thursday night, when the Arizona Cardinals defeated the New Orleans Saints 42-34.

Week 7 concludes on Monday, when the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.