Josh Jacobs, Edgerrin Cooper shine, pass defense falters in Packers' win over Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Josh Jacobs showed once again in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars why the Packers valued him so highly in free agency.

Jacobs led the Packers with 127 rushing yards on 25 carries (5.1 yards per rush) and two touchdowns. Green Bay’s narrow 30-27 victory was the first game this season in which Jacobs found the end zone twice.

The Packers replaced future team Hall of Famer Aaron Jones with Jacobs this offseason partly because of Jacobs’ durability and gave him a contract worth an average of $12 million annually. The 26-year-old hasn’t missed a game this season while tying for the league lead in rushes with the Ravens’ Derrick Henry (145) and ranks fourth in the NFL with 667 rushing yards. He’s averaging an efficient 4.6 yards per clip on the ground and 3.51 yards after contact per rush, according to TruMedia, ninth most among running backs. His ball security has also improved drastically, as Jacobs hasn’t coughed it up in the last six games after doing so once in each of the first two games.

“He’s a stud, isn’t he?” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “I mean, the physicality that he runs with … he is a pro’s pro. I can’t say enough great things about him. We’re lucky to have a guy like that.”

Jacobs had arguably his best run of the season at a pivotal time of Sunday’s win. It was late in the third quarter and the Packers trailed 17-13. They had lost quarterback Jordan Love to a groin injury earlier in the quarter and the Jaguars responded with a 10-play, 93-yard touchdown drive over 5 minutes, 33 seconds to take the lead. Green Bay needed an answer and faced a first-and-10 from Jacksonville’s 38-yard line.

Jacobs took a handoff from quarterback Malik Willis up the middle before a sharp cut left, a juke right and another cut left at the 34-yard line past the dive of cornerback De’Antre Prince. At the 31, he slithered out of a tackle attempt from linebacker Ventrell Miller. Jacobs cut the run up the left sideline and with the help of wide receiver Christian Watson shielding off safety Darnell Savage Jr. (remember him?), Jacobs breezed into the end zone, his left arm raised high having just reeled off his longest run of the season.

TAKE IT THE DISTANCE, JACOBS!#GBvsJAX pic.twitter.com/5IEN6uIqQj

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 27, 2024

“My goal coming into this game was to inspire the play caller, inspire the team,” Jacobs said. “Whatever that looks like, I just wanted to come in and run hard, have the guys trust in me. It just played out that way. Unfortunately, Jordan got hurt. I just wanted to come in and make a statement that we could still win games running the ball.”

Jacobs is the definition of a workhorse back. After Love left the game, the Packers ran 24 plays on offense, excluding Willis’ two kneels at the end of the game. Thirteen of those plays were runs to Jacobs, who totaled 88 yards on those carries. Six of them went for at least 4 yards, including the 38-yard touchdown run, and none for no gain or negative yardage.

They weren’t the gaudiest numbers to close a game, but the Packers can count on Jacobs to be available, consistent and effective, which is what he was in the second half Sunday and what he’s been for most of the season.

“Josh did a tremendous job,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “That’s a guy that can just keep his legs moving and make cuts to get further downfield. Even when you think the play’s over, he’ll still surprise you. That’s a tribute to him. He’s such a good running back. Glad to have him on my side.”

Edgerrin Cooper impresses

Second-round rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper had one of the more impressive two-play sequences you’ll see from a Packers defensive player all season. The Jaguars faced a third-and-6 from their 14-yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Packers leading 20-17. The Packers ran a replacement fire zone, meaning they sent four pass rushers but rushed a non-defensive lineman (in this case, Cooper) while a defensive lineman (in this case, Preston Smith) dropped into coverage.

Cooper bulldozed veteran center Mitch Morse, forcing quarterback Trevor Lawrence to try and escape the pocket. “Try” is the key word there since he didn’t get very far before Cooper knocked the ball loose with his left hand while wrapping him up, and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt recovered at Jacksonville’s 5-yard line. The Packers scored a touchdown two plays later.

On the Jaguars’ next drive, the Packers were in Tampa 2 on third-and-11 from Jacksonville’s 29-yard line. Cooper lined up a yard from the line of scrimmage over the right guard as if he was about to rush again. He even darted forward a yard before retreating to cover wide receiver Christian Kirk down the middle. Lawrence found Kirk for what looked like a crucial explosive play, but Cooper made a late pass breakup as Kirk fell to the ground to force a punt. Thirty-nine yards from where he started retreating into coverage. A rookie linebacker. You don’t see that versatility every day.

“He provides a lot of speed for us, especially on the second level,” safety Xavier McKinney said of Cooper. “He can cover. He can rush. It allows us to do a whole lot more on the back end, just mix in different calls, and he’s been a great addition for us. Obviously, he’s still learning and going through bumps here and there, but that’s why guys like me — I’m here — and other leaders on this defense, that’s why we’re here to get him through that. But he’s been good overall.”

Pass defense falters

McKinney said after last Sunday’s win over the Texans, the first game this season in which the Packers didn’t take the ball away, that it’s hard to intercept passes when teams don’t try you deep. And while McKinney picked off Lawrence in the second quarter for his NFL-leading sixth interception of the season on a pass that traveled 25 yards in the air, Lawrence got his and then some against the Packers deep.

Against the Packers in Week 5, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford attempted 10 passes of at least 15 air yards and completed three. The next two teams learned their lesson. The Cardinals’ Kyler Murray attempted only three such passes and completed two. The Texans’ C.J. Stroud attempted five and completed one. It was understandable after McKinney intercepted a pass in each of the first five games this season.

On Sunday, however, Lawrence attempted 11 passes of at least 15 air yards, according to Next Gen Stats. He completed eight of them including two touchdowns. On the first score, rookie first-round receiver Brian Thomas Jr. faked a corner route before running a post and fooled safety Javon Bullard, who slammed his helmet on the ground when he returned to the sideline. On the second, tight end Evan Engram Moss’d cornerback Keisean Nixon in the end zone after running a slot fade. There was plenty else wrong with the pass defense besides those two plays that needs to get cleaned up before the Lions come to town next Sunday.

“We didn’t play well enough today,” McKinney said. “I think as a team, we didn’t play well enough and we know that. We’re gonna enjoy this one but we gotta get back in there tomorrow. We have a big game coming up. We gotta be prepared for next week.”