One Player Makes It All Work For Packers And Will Challenge Eagles

The Green Bay Packers' top weapon didn't get the same acclaim as Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, but he makes their offense go.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, January 5, 2024 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry got most of the attention in the NFL when it came to running backs, and for good reason. Both players had spectacular seasons that don’t come around very often, with Barkley winning the league’s rushing title with 2,005 yards and Henry right behind with 1,921 yards.

Then there was Josh Jacobs, who sort of got lost a bit in the Barkley vs. Henry conversation.

The Packers running back had a very good season as well. Not on par with Barkley and Henry, but his 1,329 yards were the sixth-most in the league this year. His 15 rushing touchdowns were just one behind Baltimore’s Henry, Buffalo’s James Cook, and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs.

“Jacobs has had as good a year as anybody, and he's hard to tackle,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “Runs physical. And they have the play pass game off it. So, they have really good big play receivers that you're always worried about, and the combination of them being able to throw it down the field and run it is a tough combination.”

From the sound of it, Jacobs’ ability to keep defenses honest in the run game open up the pass. Sort of the way Barkley does for the Eagles offense.

“They are running the ball very, very well, and they have their play pass game off of that,” said Fangio. “They are a big-play team. They get a lot of explosives because of the quality of their running game. And it's a really good offense. They do a good job calling it. They keep you off balance. Really good.”

With Jacobs the focal point of an offense, Green Bay may be able to withstand the loss of recevier Christian Watson, who's likely to miss the game with a knee innjury, because quarterback Jordan Love spreads the ball around to may waepons, including tight end Tucker Kraft and receivers Rome Doubs and Jaden Reed.

"They are all good," said Fangio. "Doubs is good. Reed is good. The tight end is good. Jacobs gets screens and checkdowns. They spread the ball around a lot. They have got a bunch of guys with around 50 receptions or more. It's hard to focus on one guy."

The Packers possess the second-best rush offense in the league, averaging 146.8 yards per game. The Eagles have the NFL’s top rushing unit with an average of 179.3 yards per game.

In the first meeting between the two teams back on Sept. 6, Barkley had more yards with 109 to Jacobs’ 84, but Jacob’s yards per rush was higher, 5.3 to 4.5. Barkley, though, had three touchdowns in the game, two rushing and one receiving

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