No. 8 Is Coming Back; Eight Reasons Why Josh Jacobs Must Save Run Game

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will get a “full week of practice” this week and could play at the Detroit Lions on Sunday, coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday.

Goodness knows, they need him.

Jacobs spent the first six games of the season on the exempt list following an off-the-field incident with a female over Memorial Day Weekend. He was removed from the exempt list on Monday but isn’t necessarily in the clear.

While Jacobs hasn’t practiced since the end of training camp, he’s been working out with the training staff and participating in team meetings, so he shouldn’t need a ramp-up like a player coming off a significant injury.

“Well, that’s to be determined,” LaFleur said of Jacobs’ readiness. “We feel like he’s in a pretty good spot. He’s been training, but he’s missed the exposure to football.”

The Packers don’t just need Jacobs. They desperately need him. Just look at the numbers.

Eight Horrendous Stats

Green Bay’s rushing attack is the worst in the NFL by a considerable margin. Here are eight statistics that show the complete ineptitude.

One: The Packers are 32nd in the NFL with 59.8 rushing yards per game and 2.87 yards per carry. They are last in both categories by considerable margins: 16.2 yards per game behind Dallas and 0.14 yards per carry behind the Raiders.

The Chargers in 2000 averaged a record-low 66.4 rushing yards per game.

Two: The Packers’ best rushing day this season was their 86 yards against Tampa Bay in Week 4. There have been 45 individual games of more than 86 rushing yards this season.

The Packers’ best rushing day in terms of efficiency was their 3.5 yards per carry against the Jets in Week 2. That best day would rank 30th in the NFL over the course of the season.

Three: On first-down running plays, the Packers are averaging a worst-in-the-league 2.25 yards per carry. The Raiders are 31st with a 2.81-yard average. A total of 26 teams are averaging at least one more yard per carry. Against Dallas, the Packers’ first-down average plunged to 1.47 yards per carry.

Four: Yards before contact can be an offensive line stat, but it obviously can be swayed by a player’s ability to get through a hole or make someone miss. According to Stathead, the Packers have a league-low 239 yards before contact. Their 1.9-yard average is 31st.

With Jacobs, the Packers were 26th with 2.2 yards before contact per carry in 2025 and 17th with 2.4 yards before contact per carry in 2024.

Five: Yards after contact is almost totally a running back stat, though speed through a hole and getting to the second level with the offensive line matters. The Packers are last with 120 yards after contact and 31st with 1.0 yards after contract per carry, according to Stathead. 

With Jacobs, the Packers were 13th with 1.9 yards after contact per carry in 2025 and third with 2.4 yards after contact per carry in 2024.

Six: Green Bay’s rushing success this season is 34.3 percent, which ranks 30th. A “successful” play gains at least 40 percent of the required yards on first down (a 4-yard run on first-and-10 would be a success), 60 percent of the required yards on second down and 100 percent of the required yards on third and fourth down. Jacobs had individual success rates of 52.2 percent in 2024 and 49.1 percent in 2025.

Seven: A “stuff” is a run that gains 0 yards or worse. The Packers are 31st in stuff percentage, with a drive-killing 29.0 percent of their runs failing to gain yardage. With Jacobs, the Packers ranked second in stuff percentage in 2024 (17.6) and 12th in 2025 (19.3).

Eight: MarShawn Lloyd leads the Packers with 122 rushing yards. That’s a 17-game pace of 346 yards. That projected total would rank 16th in the league through Week 6.

Lloyd is averaging 2.54 yards per carry. It would require him to carry the ball 394 times to reach 1,000 yards. That would be the seventh-most rushing attempts in NFL history.

Nowhere to Go But Up for Packers

So, Jacobs could be a season-changing addition. The Packers have won three games in a row with no running game whatsoever.

“Well, I think he’s an elite-level back,” LaFleur said. “He’s certainly not going to hurt it. I think he can provide a spark.”

Is it the backs? Is it the blocking? LaFleur deflected the blame when asked about the running game on Monday, instead choosing to credit the Cowboys, who had the worst run defense in the NFL entering Week 6 but were coming off their mini-bye.

“I think there were some moments where it was good and then there were some moments where it wasn’t as good,” he said. “And then there were some moments where, quite frankly, the concepts had no chance based on different front structures they were presenting to us.

“They did a good job. I think any time that you go into a game and the opposition has a little longer to prepare for that, I think there’s some unscouted looks that can come up. Certainly, they caught us in a couple of those looks, where we didn’t have good plays for what they were showing.”

The Packers will play at the Lions on Sunday. They rank 20th in rushing yards allowed per attempt and 15th in rushing yards allowed per game. Then, they’ll host the Panthers, who are last in the league in yards allowed per attempt. Back-to-back games against the Patriots and Vikings, who boast top-10 run defenses, will follow.

Jacobs, even if it’s turning runs blocked for 1 yard into gains of 3 yards, could be a season-changing addition, perhaps as soon as Sunday.

“Yeah, absolutely,” LaFleur said when asked if Jacobs can hit the ground running. “I think that’s possible but we’ve got to go through the week and see where he’s at.”

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