The Packers took care of business on Thursday night, but the win over Carolina only sharpened the same ugly truth: Green Bay’s rushing attack is holding them back.
A 27-19 victory pushed the Packers to 5-3 and kept them in the mix in a crowded NFC North, but the performance on the ground was rough even against a Panthers defense that had been the league’s worst against the run. Carolina had just been hammered for 258 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns by Tampa Bay, yet Green Bay could only scrape together 66 rushing yards on 26 carries.
Josh Jacobs, in particular, had a night to forget. He finished with 39 rushing yards on 21 carries, good for 1.9 yards per attempt. For a team that has the worst rushing offense in the NFL, that kind of outing isn’t an outlier so much as a flashing warning sign.
That’s why the Packers’ trade deadline conversation should be less about chasing a splashy running back and more about fixing the people up front. Yes, Jonathan Taylor is the name that will draw attention until the November 10 deadline.
But Green Bay’s bigger problem isn’t at halfback. It’s in the interior offensive line, where the run blocking has been nowhere near good enough.
Quenton Nelson would have been the cleanest solution. Instead, he’s headed to the Pacific Northwest.
The Seattle Seahawks landed him for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, and that should sting in Green Bay. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Packers were in the mix for Nelson, along with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears.
If Green Bay wasn’t willing to match Seattle’s offer, or if Colts interim general manager Ed Dodds simply preferred to deal Nelson to Seattle, the end result is the same for the Packers: they missed out on the best possible answer to a glaring problem.
There are still options out there. Landon Dickerson of the Eagles stands out as the next name to watch, even with Philadelphia sitting at 2-5 and without Jalen Hurts indefinitely because of a blood clot issue. The Eagles already moved guard Cam Jurgens, and Dickerson remains one of the better guards in football despite missing most of the season with injury.
Other possible targets include Ben Bredeson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cesar Ruiz of the New Orleans Saints, and Jackson Powers-Johnson of the Las Vegas Raiders.
None of those names carries Nelson’s impact, but the Packers don’t need a headline-grabbing move as much as they need real help. Their running backs are good enough. The blocking in front of them is not.
That matters even more with a playoff path still open. The Minnesota Vikings have a brutal offense, and the Detroit Lions and Bears don’t present overwhelming defenses, though Chicago should be in a better spot after acquiring defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans.
For Green Bay, opening up the run game would ease the load on Jordan Love and make everything else look cleaner. A running back would make noise. A guard would make sense.
The Packers already showed on Thursday night that they can win. What they also showed is that they badly need help up front, and that Quenton Nelson would have fit the bill. The interior offensive line remains the place to fix before the deadline.
In Other News...
Josh Jacobs Had To Address A Packers Celebration Controversy
Josh Jacobs one-yard touchdown run was supposed to be just another hard-earned scoring play, but the celebration afterward quickly became the bigger conversation. When he put his hands behind his back, the gesture drew attention because of his past legal issues tied to a domestic dispute, and it was enough to prompt questions about whether there was any message behind it.
Jacobs pushed back on that reading, saying there was no disrespect intended and framing the moment as part of a planned celebration. The episode came shortly after his return to action from the commissioners exempt list, a stretch that put his off-field situation back under a bright spotlight even as he has tried to focus on football, show remorse and move forward with the Packers. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Win Couldnt Hide A Roster Problem Green Bay Must Fix
The Packers got the result they needed, but the win did little to disguise a rushing attack that has been stuck near the bottom of the league through seven games. Green Bays ground game has struggled to find any rhythm, and the problems have only been made worse by injuries up front, where the offensive line has been shuffling through personnel issues and losing stability at center.
Sean Rhyans absence looms over the discussion even more now, because the Packers are trying to keep the offense balanced without one of the key pieces that helps hold the line together. If Green Bay decides the answer has to come from outside the building, the kind of moves being floated would point to a team that knows it needs help in a hurry, even if any real solution would take some doing. [Read more 🡒]
Xavier McKinneys Stand After The Lions Loss Came At A Price
Xavier McKinneys latest night at Lambeau Field was a reminder that the Packers defense can still swing a game, even as the safety continues to carry some baggage from the week before. Green Bay beat Carolina 27-19 to move to 5-3, and McKinney was right in the middle of it with three sacks and a pass defended, giving the Packers the kind of disruptive performance they needed after a tense stretch.
McKinney also revealed there was a cost attached to his postgame frustration after the loss to Detroit, when he publicly took aim at the officiating. The league response landed in the form of a fine, and McKinney made clear he was prepared for the consequences when speaking up for his team, turning his stance into another subplot for a Packers defense that has already had plenty to deal with this season. [Read more 🡒]