Josh Jacobs Has Flipped the Switch

The shortcomings of the Green Bay Packers’ running game early in the season weren't entirely on Josh Jacobs' shoulders. Jacobs was getting the bulk of the carries, but the offensive line struggled to pave the way. Still, in the past two games, Jacobs has looked like his 2024 self. It's all coming together at the perfect time for this offense.

Jacobs accumulated 150 total yards, including 93 on the ground, against the Cincinnati Bengals. Two of Green Bay’s three touchdowns came from Jacobs and the ground game. The second was a beautiful 14-yard scamper on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Packers up 17-7. Jacobs commented that he could've fallen down and still scored on the play, tipping his hat to the offensive line.

His strong performance on Sunday came on the heels of a game against the Dallas Cowboys, where he had 157 total yards and two touchdowns. Jacobs hasn't just slowly started to regain the form that was seen in the 2024 season; he's flipped the switch.

In the first three games of the year, Jacobs had total yardage numbers of 70 against the Detroit Lions, 84 against the Washington Commanders, and 74 against the Cleveland Browns. Through those three games, Jacobs was averaging 3.2 yards per carry, far below his average of 4.3 entering the season. In those three contests to start the year, Jacobs had two combined touchdowns.

Over the last two weeks, Jacobs' average yards per carry for the season now stands at 3.7, still below his career average and his 4.4 yards-per-carry last year, but it's now ascending instead of descending.

It's happening at the perfect time for an offense that now has the bye week in the rearview mirror, is entering the meat-and-potatoes part of the schedule, and should get Christian Watson back in the mix.

In the first three games of the season, Green Bay was leaning heavily on the passing game, with the ground game stuck in neutral. It started early in Week 1 when Jacobs had six carries for eight yards in the first half against the Lions before piling up 58 yards on 13 carries in the final two quarters.

There's a rhythm when the passing and running games sync up to create complementary football. The Packers didn’t have the beat just right against the Bengals, but they are starting to get into a groove.

Quarterback Jordan Love

“That's what Josh's game is,” Love said. “You see what he does when he gets it. I don't think a lot of people want to tackle him when he gets rolling. He's one of those guys, just hand the ball to him, let him go eat.”

Maybe most impressive from Jacobs' 93-yard effort on the ground is that he did so while

“I was miked up, so I don't know if they're going to put that in there or not,” Jacobs said. “But it was a couple times I was on the field, I was like coughing, everybody like, 'Man, are you all right?' I'm like, 'We'll figure it out.’”

Defenses will be getting nauseous trying to contain Jacobs if the past two games are a sign of what's to come.

The Packers will hit the road for back-to-back games against the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers next. The Cardinals are No. 13 in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and just watched Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor run all over them for 123 yards on 21 carries. As a team, the Colts averaged 5.6 yards per carry against Arizona.

After that come the Steelers. While the headline will be Aaron Rodgers playing against Green Bay, Jacobs will have a lot to say about the game’s outcome.

Pittsburgh's defense ranks No. 17 in rushing yards allowed per game. While it bottled up Quinshon Judkins this past week, there were visible flaws earlier in the year when the Steelers allowed Breece Hall to rack up 107 yards rushing, followed by Kenneth Walker's 105-yard outing.

Matt LaFleur loves keeping balance on offense. That can only be achievable if both sides are firing on all cylinders. Last year, the passing game was on a roller coaster ride. As a result, the run game was relied upon to do more. That task primarily fell to Jacobs.

This year, the passing game got off to a quick start, but now Jacobs and the running game are starting to cook, and the Packers will have plenty of ways to carve up opposing defenses.