The Green Bay Packers are finally back on track after what seemed to be a long season. Matt LaFleur has turned things around, and the offense is firing on all cylinders despite having no running game whatsoever.
The Packers will get a big boost on the backfield with Josh Jacobs' imminent return. He'll give them a starting-caliber guy after rolling with multiple lesser options for the first six weeks, and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich knows how crucial he'll be in fixing those woes.
Nevertheless, as much as Stenavich and LaFleur should be looking forward to getting Jacobs back in the fold, they shouldn't fix what's not broken. Jordan Love is playing at an MVP-caliber level, and they can't take the ball out of his hands.
The Packers must continue to trust Jordan Love after Josh Jacobs' return
“Josh [Jacobs] will definitely help, for sure,” Stenavich said. “He’s an excellent player, and he’ll provide some good spark for our offense. So, I’m excited about that. But we just all need to do a better job.”
That makes perfect sense. No team should aspire to win a Super Bowl averaging just 59.8 rushing yards per game, but having Jacobs out there should only help them run the ball more efficiently, not necessarily more often.
The Packers average the fifth-most passing yards per game (269.3). Their 21.2 points per game rank 23rd, and having Jacobs will probably make them more efficient in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
That said, this is the first time LaFleur has actually trusted Jordan Love. It has been out of necessity, but he's responded by helping Matthew Golden and Christian Watson combine for over 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Play-calling has been atrocious on first and second down. The Packers are constantly rushing for negative yardage or running into a stacked box, just for Love to bail them out with a 20-yard completion on third-and-long.
Maybe it would be better to let the quarterback cook from the star instead of running the same predictable 'run-run-pass' offense that LaFleur has displayed since Aaron Rodgers left the team and stopped changing his plays at the line of scrimmage.
This isn't to say that the Packers shouldn't roll with Jacobs, but LaFleur's insistence on establishing the run has often done more harm than good. This can't be an even 50-50 split; the Packers must be a pass-first offense if they want to stay on course.
Josh Jacobs should be an asset, a means to an end, and not the primary focus of the offense. That's what Jordan Love is there for, and that's why they're paying him the big bucks. Let the man cook; he's been on fire.
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