Mike Washington Jr. kept making his case on Thursday, running for 56 yards on nine carries in the Las Vegas Raiders' 22-20 comeback victory over the Texans. He also broke a 33-yard run, another flash of the burst that has started to turn him from camp standout into a real part of the conversation.
That is why the Raiders Backup RB search has picked up again. Washington already showed his speed with a 53-yard run in his preseason debut, then backed it up on Tuesday with good work against the Texans' dominant first-team defense in a joint practice before carrying it into the game at Reliant Stadium. For a rookie, the sequence matters: one long run can be a highlight, two more strong showings in a row start to look like a trend.
Coach Klint Kubiak said Washington is earning roles and could carve out a larger one if the success keeps coming. The next step is not just more runs. Kubiak said Washington still has to keep getting better in all facets of his game, which is a polite way of saying the Raiders like the runner but are still evaluating everything that comes with staying on the field.
That is where the real test begins. Washington has produced on the ground, but the staff wants more from him in pass protection and in the passing game before his role can expand. Aidan O'Connell said it has been awesome to see him develop in both areas, and he added that a rookie running back has to know protections, the pass game and the run game. In other words, the Raiders can use the burst now, but they will not trust him with a bigger slice of the backfield unless the rest of his game catches up.
The win also came with a warning sign. The Raiders were flagged nine times for 83 yards, and Kubiak called the repeated special-teams mistakes very concerning after the team had been penalized eight times for 75 yards in the opener. So while Washington's rise gives the Raiders a live option behind Ashton Jeanty, the cleaner next step for this team may be just as obvious: reduce the mistakes, keep the rookie involved, and see whether the playmaking holds once the assignments get harder.
