The Green Bay Packers used nine different players to rush for 188 yards during Monday night’s 34-0 win over the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.
Josh Jacobs averaged 5.3 yards per carry and scored another touchdown on 13 attempts, backups Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks combined for 75 rushing yards and two scores, Packers receivers rushed for 42 yards, and both Jordan Love and Tucker Kraft converted sneak attempts for first downs.
The Packers’ 188 rushing yards tied for the team’s second most in a game this season. Green Bay now ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and fifth in rushing touchdowns through 16 weeks.
Jacobs got the party started, and his 20-yard run on the opening possession — in which he stiff-armed Tyrann Mathieu to the ground to end the run — set the tone early. Wilson and Brooks were bruisers with the ball in their hands, especially in the second half as the Packers rested Jacobs. Matt LaFleur got Christian Watson (2 carries, 23 yards), Bo Melton (1 carry, 14 yards) and Jayden Reed (1 carry, 5 yards) involved, and the Packers converted 3rd-and-1 with Kraft’s third successful sneak of the season and 4th-and-1 with an easy sneak from Love.
Of the Packers’ 24 first downs, 14 came on the ground.
On a night when Love hit a couple of explosive plays but was inconsistent overall, the Packers still scored 34 points and ran away with the win because the run game was so productive and reliable.
LaFleur’s team can win in multiple ways. This is a Packers team that can win the battle at the line of scrimmage and play a physical brand of ball, which is often required outdoors in December and January. They can also create explosive plays in the passing game, play suffocating defense and be reliable on special teams — imagine that! Brandon McManus and Daniel Whelan have been excellent.
The run game will be vital as the Packers approach the gauntlet awaiting in the NFC playoffs. Finesse teams don’t last. Physical ones do. The Packers are built to last behind what is looking more and more like a dominant run game on offense.