GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs’ season debut showed that he couldn’t instantly solve all of the problems with the NFL’s lowest-ranked rushing attack.
Now that he has a game under his belt, Jacobs is confident that he has shaken off the rust that came from missing the first six games of the season while on the commissioner’s exempt list. The three-time Pro Bowl selection says it’s imperative for the running backs to play more physically as Green Bay adjusts to injuries on its offensive line.
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“Sometimes you’re going to have to break them tackles and you’re going to have to keep your feet running,” Jacobs said Tuesday. “You’ve got to give guys the energy and the juice to feel like you’re carrying it. It could be a bad play. You got a pile and you push the pile or whatever. That’s stuff that gets guys energized and ready to go play.”
Jacobs rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries and caught five passes for 55 yards in a 20-17 loss at Detroit that marked his first game since pleading no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend.
With the Packers driving for a potential go-ahead score on Sunday, Jacobs couldn’t hang on to a pass in the end zone with the score tied and about 3 1/2 minutes left.
“I felt like I beat him so early (that) when I saw the ball, I kind of tried to slow down for the ball, but that’s a play that literally hit both hands,” Jacobs said. “Whenever it hit any hand, for my standard, I feel like you’ve got to catch it.”
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The Packers (4-3) are counting on Jacobs to boost a running game that has struggled heading into Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers (3-3).
Green Bay’s 59.9 yards rushing per game are nearly 15 fewer than anyone else.
The only other team in the past 35 seasons to average fewer than 60 yards per rushing through its first seven games was the 2019 Cincinnati Bengals with 53.1.
Considering those numbers, it’s remarkable that Green Bay is above .500. Since 1933, the other 13 teams that averaged below 60 yards rushing through their seven games went a combined 11-79-1 during that stretch.
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“If we want to be the team we want to be, we’ve definitely got to improve the run game,” quarterback Jordan Love said.
Carolina could be just what the Packers need.
The Panthers are coming a 43-13 home loss to Tampa Bay in which they allowed the Buccaneers to rush for 258 yards. Green Bay’s season rushing total didn’t reach 258 yards until its fifth game of the season.
But an offensive line decimated by injuries could have trouble creating running room.
Starting center Sean Rhyan (ankle) and backup Jacob Monk (quadriceps) got hurt against Detroit, with Monk landing on injured reserve. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said it’s uncertain whether Rhyan might end up on injured reserve as well.
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Green Bay’s center for most of the Lions game was John Williams, who had never played a single snap on offense in his two-year career before Sunday.
Right guard Travis Glover has a knee issue that leaves his status uncertain for Thursday. The Packers already lost right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele to a season-ending knee injury last month.
All those offensive line injuries could make Jacobs’ job tougher. He’s ready to pick up the slack by gaining yards after contact.
“We’ve still got to make plays, and that’s a part of it,” Jacobs said. “Breaking tackles, grinding out those hard yards … turning a 2-yard run into a 4-yard run. That’s things that motivate the guys and also motivate the play-caller. So that’s something that we’ve definitely got to do.”
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NOTES: LaFleur said LB Zaire Franklin (shin) will miss a second straight game Thursday. … WR Matthew Golden is on Green Bay’s injury report with shoulder and foot issues. Although the Packers had a walk-through Tuesday and didn’t practice Monday, the Packers estimated that Golden would have been held out each of those days. … LaFleur was asked about the possibility All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons could return to practice next week as he continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. “I sure hope so,” LaFleur said.
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.
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