The Green Bay Packers have a huge NFC North contest against the Chicago Bears in Week 14. The margin between these teams is very slim, and the Packers could use any advantage they could get going into this tilt.
Running back Josh Jacobs is the workhorse in the backfield for this group, but has been dealing with a knee injury since the Week 11 game against the New York Giants. That forced him to miss the Week 12 game against the Minnesota Vikings, but he returned the following week against the Detroit Lions. Upon his return, he had his full workload, but the Packers would be wise to scale back some of those carries and float some to Emanuel Wilson.
Packers Should Look to Give Emanuel Wilson More Carries
In Wilson's lone start against the Vikings, he had 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. In the following contest versus Detroit on Thanksgiving, Wilson only had four carries, while Jacobs got 17.
When Jacobs spoke to the media on Thursday, he was asked how his bruised knee felt going into the game vs. the Bears, and he revealed he's still feeling some pain there.
"It’s kind of the same, honestly. It feels good, don’t get me wrong. I can run a lot better than I could that week, but I’m not going to say it’s gone," Jacobs said via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
It appears that Jacobs will have to deal with this injury for the remainder of the season, and given the openness about the discomfort he's feeling, the Packers should think about lightening his carries.
As the weather gets colder, teams will lean on the ground game even more. Green Bay is tied for seventh in the NFL in carries (350), while Jacobs is tied for 11th in carries (186). The Packers are a better team when Jacobs is heavily involved, but since he's less than 100%, Green Bay needs to consider that.
Wilson has shown that he can be a factor in the ground game, and the team needs to find a way to incorporate him more. It would be beneficial for the offense and Jacobs' health.
Having less wear and tear on his body weekly could keep Jacobs fresher for the postseason push. It'll also add another wrinkle to the ground attack and force teams to focus on stopping both Jacobs and Wilson.
The Packers know that Jacobs is their RB1, but they should seriously think about taking away from his load and give those extra carries to Wilson.