Josh Jacobs is a weapon. The Green Bay Packers don’t have an actual tank driving down defenders at Lambeau Field, but it had to have felt like it in Week 12 when Jacobs rushed 26 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns on 4.1 yards per carry against the San Francisco 49ers.
That’s tough sledding in a good way if you’re an offensive lineman. However, it’s bad news if you’re a defender, because Jacobs checks in at a stout 5-foot-10, 223 pounds and he runs like a hybrid of Marshawn Lynch and Derrick Henry. He runs angry, and anyone who has ever coached football from Pee Wee all the way to the NFL knows that he runs the right way. He runs with his pad level low, he keeps his legs churning, and he’s always moving forward.
That’s exactly how you coach it, and that’s what makes Jacobs so dangerous for the the 8-3 Packers as they look to keep pace with the 10-1 Detroit Lions and 9-2 Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North while ultimately finding a way to make the 2024 NFL Playoffs — however they can do it.
The thing is, head coach Matt LaFleur and the Packers learned exactly how they can make a playoff push in their win against the 49ers. In fact, there’s a case to be made that they’ve known for a few weeks. Jacobs has rushed for six touchdowns over the past four games and it’s no coincidence that the Packers are 3-1 in that timeframe.
Heck, even in a tough loss to the Lions in early November, the Packers had found the formula for success against what is otherwise a strong defense. Jacobs rushed for 95 yards against the Lions, with 89 of those yards coming in the first half. The Packers had to abandon the run in the second half because they were down 17-3 at halftime thanks to a terrible pick-six thrown by Jordan Love. If it wasn’t for that play, LaFleur seemed committed to trying to wear down Detroit’s defensive line via Jacobs.
That is the formula for success for Green Bay, especially with Love still trying to find his accuracy.
Green Bay’s offense in 2023 was much different than the one it possesses in 2024. The Packers were explosive in 2023 because they had an offensive scheme that demanded speed and dynamics. Much of that was because Aaron Jones was their running back.
Jones was a great back during his time in Green Bay, but he was never a bruiser. Get him in space, and he’s as dangerous as they come, but Jones was never the back you hand the ball off to 30 times in an effort to grind out your opponents. As a result, Green Bay’s offense had to be agile and it relied heavily on Love’s athleticism.
Things have changed in 2024, though, largely because Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst elected to sign Jacobs and let Jones walk to the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers can be plenty quick and explosive thanks to players like Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and backup running back Emanuel Wilson. But there’s a toughness and patience to Green Bay’s offense when it’s humming that has been missing since prime Eddie Lacy.
Its been arguably missing since Ahman Green, who was in his prime with the Packers from 2001 to 2004. That’s to say, it’s been 20 years.
Thanks to Jacobs, the Packers have the ability to wear down their opponents defense. He’s not always explosive, but he’s always guaranteed to pick up yards. Three-to-four yards a carry doesn’t seem like much until you realize it consistently sets the offense up with third-and-two and it keeps moving the chains.
Josh Jacobs is the key to Packers’ success in 2024
That’s what the Packers’ offense has been when LaFleur commits to pounding the rock with Jacobs and as we saw against the 49ers, it’s an effective plan — especially in the red zone, where the Packers have otherwise struggled.
The Packers want to make the playoffs, but more than that, they believe they have a Super Bowl roster. There’s still much football left in 2024 and they’ll get their chance to prove or disprove that idea, but any playoff or Super Bowl aspirations the Packers have has to start and end with Jacobs. He needs to touch the football 25 times-plus as a runner from here on out, because he’s proven that he can carry that load.
Meanwhile, Jacobs pounding the rock will make things easier for Love downfield via the play action game. It will also help the Packers control the clock, which in turn will help Jeff Hafley’s defense.
Ultimately, Jacobs is the key, and he knows that. He could have gone anywhere this offseason as a free agent, but there was something special about Green Bay that drew him in, Jacobs told Tom Brady after the big win over San Francisco, via Fox Sports.
“I like what they had going on. I seen the culture that was built here. I seen the winning that was built here. I know the legacy of the Packers. I wanted to be a part of that, man,” Jacobs said. “I felt like I was the missing piece. And I wanted to come here and put my stamp on the Packers.”
Missing piece, indeed.
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