Running back Josh Jacobs has been a nightmare for opposing defenses since arriving in Green Bay.
The Miami Dolphins boast a top-ten rushing defense through 12 weeks, but they’ll face one of their toughest challenges on Thanksgiving against the Green Bay Packers and their star running back, Josh Jacobs. The two-time Pro Bowler has ignited the Packers of late with 100 total yards in four straight games.
Jacobs ranks fourth in carries (202), third in rushing yards (944), and tenth in touchdowns (seven) while averaging 4.7 yards per carry through 11 games. He was a first-team All-Pro and the NFL’s rushing yards leader in 2022, and now powers an offense that averages 26 points per game.
“I’ll tell you what, tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a back,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “He obviously has incredible short area quickness, really good contact balance, but he runs angry and when you’re watching opposing backs, that’s always what you’re looking for – how many yards do they get post-contact.”
Jacobs leads all running backs with 24 broken tackles and averages 2.7 yards after contact, according to Fantasy Pros. Stopping him is a challenge — but is possible considering he’s been tackled for a loss 22 times this season, fourth-most among backs.
“So for us, obviously we’ve got to do a great job tackling him, and we can’t just rely on any one guy to bring him down,” Weaver said. “We got to make sure we try to shoot him low and run our feet and all those things, but we’ve got to try to get population to the ball. We got to swarm tackle this guy, make sure we’re chasing down and not assuming he’s down because the second you do that, he’ll break a tackle and he’ll run for 20.”
Miami features a top rushing defense, allowing an average of just 107 yards per game on the ground. The Dolphins have been even better of late, ranking No. 5 with 72 yards allowed over the last five games.
Looking big picture at the Packers offense, quarterback Jordan Love has thrown 11 interceptions and fumbled three times through nine games. Slowing Jacobs on the ground — and putting the ball in Love’s hands — could turn the tides for a Dolphins defense that has forced multiple turnovers in two of the last three games.
