NFL Overreactions Week 11
USAT’s Prince Grimes breaks down the biggest storylines from NFL Week 11.
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Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was one of many players bitten by the injury bug in Week 11.
During the Packers’ Nov. 16 game against the New York Giants, Jacobs suffered a knee injury that took him out of the game in the first half. He did not return.
How long will Jacobs be out with his knee injury?
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported after the game that “Jacobs’ injury is not believed to be season-ending.” The Packers’ leading running back will undergo more tests on his knee on Nov. 17 as he and the team return home to Green Bay.
It’s unclear when Jacobs sustained his knee injury, since he remained on the field for every play of the Packers’ first two drives. But when Green Bay’s offense took the field for a third time, Jacobs was missing.
Before he was ruled out, the Packers’ running back tallied 40 yards on seven carries (5.7 average yards) in Week 11. Through 10 games, Jacobs (169) has more than three times as many carries as backup Emanuel Wilson (53) and leads Green Bay with 648 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Here’s what to know about his Week 12 status:
Matt LaFleur told reporters Jacobs would not be placed on IR because of his injury and that he could “potentially” play in Week 12’s game against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 23.
“We’ll see where he’s at,” LaFleur said. “It’s a contusion, so it’s just more or less trying to get the swelling down. Unfortunately, that’s a pretty hard surface over there and sometimes [that’s] the byproduct of that.”
Tests on Nov. 17 confirmed there was no structural damage to the running back’s knee, Demovsky and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported. Jacobs is considered week-to-week because of his injury.
Multiple reports indicate that Jacobs is thought to have avoided a season-ending knee injury.
Pelissero wrote on X that Jacobs “returned briefly after jamming his knee into the MetLife turf” and had testing on his knee planned for Nov. 17.
Jacobs injured his knee at some point during the Packers’ Week 11 game against the Giants.
The Packers’ lead back played through the final play of Green Bay’s second possession before exiting the game, never to return. Pelissero reported after the game that Jacobs jammed his knee during the first half.
Jacobs underwent more testing on his knee on Nov. 17, which provided evidence that he did not sustain any structural damage to the joint.
Packers RB depth chart
Wilson took the heavier workload in carries in Week 11 following Jacobs’ departure. He finished the Nov. 16 game with 40 yards – matching Jacobs’ total – on 11 carries (3.6 average yards).
Brooks had one carry for eight yards against the Giants, while Lloyd “ramped up” his rehab process on Nov. 13, acording to Demovsky.
If Jacobs misses additional time, Wilson will be expected to step into the No. 1 running back role in Green Bay.
This story has been updated.
