NFL Week 3: Jon Gruden wary of Kenyan Drake's speed

Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in East Rutherford, N.J.

As the analyst for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," Jon Gruden had a ringside seat for Kenyan Drake's NFL breakout.

The Miami Dolphins running back had never carried the football more than nine times in an NFL game until gaining 120 yards on 23 rushing attempts on Dec. 3 in a 35-9 victory over the Denver Broncos.

The next week in a 27-20 victory over the New England Patriots in a Monday night game, the former Alabama standout ran for 114 yards on 25 carries and caught five passes for 79 yards to become the first Miami player with a 100-yard rushing, 75-yard receiving game in 10 years.

"He's dangerous," Gruden said. "I've seen him against unblocked defenders in the hole against New England. I saw him against Denver last year make some of the most magnificent runs. He can stop and start and accelerate with the best of them. He's a good receiver. He's becoming an outstanding receiver in this style of offense. He's the perfect back in this spread system. If you get him one-on-one in open space, he can do a lot of damage."

That's exactly what Gruden hopes doesn't happen on Sunday, because this year he won't be watching Drake from the broadcast booth but from the sideline as Oakland's coach when the Raiders visit Miami.

Drake followed the Denver and New England games last season to go on to lead the NFL in rushing yards in December.

In Miami's first two games this season, Drake has 101 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries and seven receptions for 35 yards while sharing time with Frank Gore. In his 14th NFL season, Gore moved into fourth place in league history in rushing yards in Miami's previous game. He has 18 carries for 86 yards and a 19-yard reception in 2018.

Miami has won its first two games, defeating the Tennessee Titans 27-20 and New York Jets 20-12.

Drake is something of a prototypical player for the 2018 Dolphins. He's fast.

"One of the things that we talked about when we were putting this team together in the offseason was having speed and being a fast team," Miami coach Adam Gase said. "I like what I see."

The Dolphins used the 11th choice in the NFL Draft in April on Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, so he figured he'd be one of the fastest players on his new team. Being with the 2018 Dolphins has been eye-opening.

"There is fast and really fast," Fitzpatrick said. "We have a lot of really fast."

The Raiders are 0-2 to start Gruden's second stint as the team's coach. The Broncos beat Oakland 20-19 on Sunday with a field goal with 10 seconds to play after the Raiders kicked off the season with a 33-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

"It'll be a challenge again in Miami," Gruden said. "We'll be wearing black jerseys, I believe. The last time we went down there, I was hot, and I'm not even playing. But that's going to test our mental toughness."

Week 3 will kick off with the New York Jets visiting the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. NFL Network will televise the game at 7:20 CDT.

Week 3's other two nationally televised games feature the New England Patriots and Detroit Lions at 7:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7:15 p.m. Monday on ESPN.

FOX has the doubleheader on Sunday, and Alabama affiliates will broadcast the New Orleans Saints-Atlanta Falcons game at noon followed by the Dallas Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks game.

The CBS noon game will be split in Alabama, with affiliates in Dothan, Mobile and Montgomery broadcasting the Cincinnati Bengals-Carolina Panthers game and stations in Birmingham and Huntsville showing the Tennessee Titans-Jacksonville Jaguars game.

The Alabama Game of the Week is the Titans-Jaguars contest. The teams' active rosters include 11 players from state high schools and colleges.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM'S COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

The complete Week 3 schedule (with all times Central and with point spreads from vegasinsider.com):

Thursday

  • New York Jets at Cleveland Browns (-3), 7:20 p.m. (NFL Network)

Sunday

  • Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings (-16.5), noon
  • Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers (-3), noon
  • Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens (-5), noon
  • Green Bay Packers (-3) at Washington Redskins, noon
  • Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5), noon
  • New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (-3), noon
  • New York Giants at Houston Texans (-6), noon
  • Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins (-3), noon
  • San Francisco 49ers at Kansas Chiefs (-6.5), noon
  • Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5), noon
  • Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams (-7), 3:05 p.m.
  • Chicago Bears (-6) at Arizona Cardinals, 3:25 p.m.
  • Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks (-1.5), 3:25 p.m.
  • New England Patriots (-6.5) at Detroit Lions, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

  • Pittsburgh Steelers (-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)

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

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