Blast From the Past: Packers’ Jayden Reed Makes History vs. Rams

Highlighted by a sensational catch, Jayden Reed accomplished a feat not done in the NFL for almost 40 years in the Packers’ victory over the Rams.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) catches a 53-yard pass against Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake (37) . / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jayden Reed made some old-school NFL history on Sunday.

With four catches for 78 yards and two rushes for 19 yards in the Green Bay Packers’ 24-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, Reed became the sixth player in NFL history with at least 400 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards in his team’s first five games of a season.

Reed needed 64 receiving yards and 9 rushing yards to become the first player since 1985 to hit 400 and 100 in five games.

Reed got the necessary receiving yards with an 18-yard catch late in the first half, the big play as the Packers cut the deficit to 13-10. He got the requisite rushing yards on an 11-yard run on Green Bay’s second touchdown drive of the third quarter.

“Just finding mismatches, holes in the defense,” Reed told reporters at SoFi Stadium. “The coaches do a great job putting us in position to make a play and make up come open. They do a great job with that.”

The highlight-reel play of the game – and one of the highlight-reel plays of the entire NFL season – came on Green Bay’s second possession of the day. On second-and-10 from Green Bay’s 45, Jordan Love threw a bomb to Reed. Reed was covered deep by cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Quentin Lake with linebacker Christian Rozeboom chasing hard from behind.

With the ball in the air, Reed thought back to his prolific days at Michigan State.

“They used to say in college, ‘F*** it, Reed’s down there somewhere, so just throw it up,” Reed said.

He posted the same thing, minus the curse word, on X after the game.

F*ck it Reed down there somewhere😂🔥

— j.reed11💂🏾 (@JaydenReed5) October 7, 2024

“I saw trust,” Reed said. “I had a field post and I ran it. I seen three guys and I just seen trust from 10 and I had to make the play.”

With the Sunday night and Monday night games to be played, Reed is fifth in the NFL with 414 receiving yards and third with 19.7 yards per catch (first among receivers with at least 14 catches). He is fourth with a combined 539 receiving, rushing and return yards.

With 414 receiving yards and 110 rushing yards, Reed became the first player in the millennium, third player in the Super Bowl era and the sixth player in NFL history to reach 400 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards to start the season.

The others: Timmy Brown (1965), Roger Craig (1985), Hall of Famer Frank Gifford (1959), Paul Hofer (1980) and Wilbur Moore (1943).

Craig was the most recent to accomplish the feat, though that was 39 years ago. Not surprisingly, Reed hadn’t heard of any of those players when asked this week.

Reed, who led the team in receptions and receiving yards as a rookie, has emerged as the go-to player for Love.

“I didn’t think he was that deep, but he was pretty deep,” Love said of Lake. “Definitely not a great decision on my part, but when you’ve got a playmaker like Jayden Reed, who’s going to go up and make you right, it helps. Great play by J-Reed right there.”

Echoed coach Matt LaFleur: “We’re not necessarily encouraging that” throw.

No, but it was a magnificent throw by Love with sublime ball-tracking skills by Reed. Lake and Witherspoon were in position but there was no stopping Reed.

“That’s trust from 10. I’ve just got to make a play,” Reed said.

Reed had three touches, including the 53-yard bomb, on the first scoring drive, an 18-yard catch on the scoring drive just before halftime and the 11-yard run on the touchdown drive in the third quarter.

It wasn’t pretty for the Packers – a feast-or-famine offense that scored only when there was a big play. But after falling just short against the Vikings last week, the Packers did enough to beat the Rams and improve to 3-2.

“it’s not easy winning in this league so you’ve got to take every win – every win or loss – and learn from it,” Reed said. “So, we’re taking this win and we’re just trying to look at all the good things we did, continue with that momentum and look at the things we need to clean up next week.”

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The grades are in, with Professor @JacobWestendorf delivering his weekly report card following the #Packers' victory over the Rams. ⬇️https://t.co/NwZCLli50r

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 7, 2024

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