DETROIT – In his first season with the Green Bay Packers, running back Josh Jacobs passed the 1,000-yard mark in Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

Jacobs entered the game ranked third in the NFL with 987 rushing yards. He reached exactly 1,000 on the final play of the first quarter with a typical Jacobs run in which he advanced several yards after initial contact.

It would not be possible to bask in the glory of having achieved a milestone.

“No, man, I care more about winning. The accolades, it doesn’t matter,” Jacobs said this week.

Nonetheless, it was a career renaissance season for Jacobs in which he re-established himself as a top performer in the NFL.

“I’m not going to lie to you, every week I feel better and better about this decision,” Jacobs said after scoring three touchdowns against the 49ers. “So, for me, I’m happy, man. Even through adversity and difficult times, I never feel a certain way. I come into the building every day, I feel happy and I try to give everything I have.

A first-round pick of the Raiders in 2019, he rushed for 1,150 yards as a rookie and 1,065 yards in 2020, his first Pro Bowl season. In 2022, he led the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards and 97.2 rushing yards per game en route to becoming first team All-Pro.

Last year, however, Jacobs’ production plummeted. Here is the Sports Info Solutions comparison.

Rushing yards: 1,653 in 2022. 805 in 2023.

Yards per carry: 4.9 in 2022. 3.5 in 2023.

Rushing touchdowns: 12 in 2022. 6 in 2023.

Percentage of carries for a first down: 27.4 in 2022. 14.6 in 2023.

Yards after contact: 1,103 in 2022. 544 in 2023.

Yards after contact per carry: 3.2 in 2022. 2.3 in 2023.

Broken/missed tackles: 79 in 2022. 28 in 2023.

Percentage of broken tackles: 23.2 in 2022. 12.0 in 2023.

It was a stunning drop in production, which is why he was available in free agency. Liking what his powerful running style could mean in late-season football games like Thursday’s and believing last year’s drop in production was a byproduct of circumstance and not the wear and tear of five years In heavy usage with the Raiders, the Packers opted to sign the durable Jacobs and release the explosive Aaron Jones at the start of free agency.

Jacobs returned to his vintage form fueling the Packers’ strong start. The comparison between his 233 carries in 13 games in 2023 and his 221 carries in 12 games in 2024:

Rushing yards: 805 in 2023. 987 in 2024.

Yards per carry: 3.5 in 2023. 4.5 in 2024.

Rushing touchdowns: 6 in 2023. 8 in 2024.

Percentage of carries for a first down: 14.6 in 2023. 22.6 in 2024.

Yards after contact: 544 in 2023. 675 in 2024.

Yards after contact per carry: 2.3 in 2023. 3.1 in 2024.

Broken/missed tackles: 28 in 2023. 47 in 2024.

Broken tackle percentage: 12.0 in 2023. 21.3 in 2024.

According to SIS, 32 backs have completed at least 100 carries before Week 14. Jacobs is sixth in yards after contact per carry and fifth in percentage of carries in which he forced a missed tackle.

“He’s a big back. You can tell people really aren’t trying to hit him,” guard Elgton Jenkins said. “They know that upon contact, it will crush them. Big, fast, powerful. Lots of power.

With four games left after Thursday at Detroit, 1,000 yards might just be a blip on the radar. He entered the game averaging 82.3 rushing yards per game, which allowed him to gain 1,398 yards.

That would be behind only Ahman Green’s 1,883 yards in 16 games in 2003, Jim Taylor’s 1,474 yards in 14 games during his MVP season of 1962, and Dorsey Levens’ 1,435 yards in 16 games in 1997 .

Is this the kind of season he envisioned when he decided to join the Packers?

“I say it all the time, I came here because I saw them win,” Jacobs said after the win over the 49ers. “And I haven’t won a lot in my career, and that was an important consideration for me when making a decision.

“But not only that, man, being around these guys and seeing how hungry they are, seeing how professional they are every day and how much it means to them, man, it makes me want to play. harder, it makes me want to give everything I have.

This is the 27th 1,000-yard season in franchise history. Jones has passed for three, most recently his career-high 1,121 yards in 2022. He is the 11th player to reach that mark.

Fueled by Jacobs, the Packers entered the week with six games of 160+ rushing yards. Only the Eagles (with Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts with eight games) and the Ravens (with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson with eight) have had more.

Last week, Jacobs became the fourth player since 2000 with more than 800 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in each of his first six career seasons. The others: Ezekiel Elliott, Adrian Peterson and Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.

“Big, powerful, tough to tackle, run after contact,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said this week. “When you have a running back of that nature, it changes the mindset of the O-line. So now the O-line knows we have that physical runner, so now it turns into a more physical offensive line .

“All they have to do is show him, give him a little bend, and they know he’s going to go 10 feet with nothing.” Most of those three yards end up being 6 and 7 yards and he’s going to make a tackle. So, I think he fits that scheme perfectly and he does a heck of a job complementing the entire offense, which now allows the vertical passing game to pop.

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