The Packers are bringing Josh Jacobs back into the mix in Week 7, and that immediately changes the look of a game the Lions were already preparing for.
Green Bay enters the week with the NFL’s worst rushing offense through six games. The Packers are averaging just 59.8 rushing yards per game and have only 359 total rushing yards heading into Week 7. Missing Jacobs for the entire year has been a major reason for that lack of production.
Jacobs had originally been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list to open the season after being charged with multiple felonies tied to a domestic violence dispute with his partner. Those charges included strangulation and suffocation.
The charges were later reduced to misdemeanors because of reportedly insufficient evidence, and he was removed from the exempt list. The Packers activated him right away, and head coach Matt LaFleur said everyone deserves a second chance.
That puts Detroit in a spot no Packers opponent has faced this season: defending Green Bay with Jacobs available.
The Lions’ run defense has not exactly been airtight on its own. Their linebacker group has struggled to help the defensive line stop the run, and Detroit has a success rate of just 29 percent in that area. They’ve already had some rough stretches against backs like James Cook and Chuba Hubbard.
Jacobs gives the Packers a much more dangerous option. Last season, he ran for 929 yards and scored 13 total touchdowns for Green Bay.
He is clearly the team’s top back in Week 7, though it’s still not clear how many snaps he’ll get in his first game back. He can also make plays as a receiver, which adds another layer for the Lions to account for.
There’s also been backlash around Jacobs’ return. The source argues there’s a difference between fandom and homerism, and says if someone can say Jacobs deserves to suit up as the Packers’ RB1 after coming off the exempt list for serious charges and accusations, that’s homerism. It also points to Terrion Arnold as a comparison, saying that after the charges brought against him in connection with robbery, assault, and kidnapping, there was no question he should not only no longer be a Lion, but he should not be playing football.
The piece closes by saying Jacobs is back as if nothing happened, and that LaFleur’s tone in his press conference only made the situation look worse.
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