The world was at war for a second time the last time a running back for the Green Bay Packers caught three touchdown passes in a single game.
Well, until Monday night.
Aaron Jones caught three scores during the primetime win over the Detroit Lions, becoming the first Packers running back since Andy Uram in 1942 to accomplish the feat.
Jones caught a 4-yard touchdown pass on a touch pass in the first quarter, a 1-yard touchdown pass on second down in the second quarter and an 11-yard touchdown pass that gave the Packers an 11-point lead in the third quarter.
Jones also added a 1-yard touchdown run. He became the first running back since Marshall Faulk in 2000 to score four total touchdowns on “Monday Night Football.”
With the Lions playing two-deep coverages and shading help to Davante Adams, the Packers found ways to get the ball to Jones, who scored 30 combined total touchdowns in 2019 and 2020. He finished Monday night with 23 touches and 115 total yards.
This isn’t the first time Jones has scored four touchdowns in a game. He found the end zone four times in a win over the Cowboys in Dallas in 2019.
All three receiving touchdowns on Monday night were clever plays. On the first, Jones came in motion pre-snap from right to left, grabbed the touch pass from Aaron Rodgers and followed blockers into the end zone. The second score was aided by a play-action fake and a subtle but important pick route from Marquez Valdez-Scantling, clearing a throwing window into the flat. On the third, the Packers had Jones leak out to the left while the whole play moved right, confusing the coverage and providing a free run to the end zone.
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