As the calendar turns to December, weather becomes a bigger factor and the postseason looms just over the horizon, the Green Bay Packers must embrace their blossoming identity as a smashmouth football team and continue feeding their trio of verifiable psychos on offense.
Psychos, in this sense, is a term of endearment. Josh Jacobs, Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed are psychotic in the best way possible when the football is in their hands — and they can be the drivers of a title push down the stretch.
Jacobs has back-to-back games forcing 10 or more tackles and ranks tied for fourth among running backs in total missed tackles forced and second in yards after contact. In consecutive outdoor games at Lambeau Field over a five-day stretch, he was nearly impossible to tackle by the first defender. The Packers are headed inside on Thursday night to play the Detroit Lions, but Jacobs — and his tone-setting physicality as a runner — must lead the way, especially considering both teams will be playing their third game in 12 days.
Kraft is essentially the tight end version of Jacobs and capable of similar impact. He ranks first at his position in missed tackles forced and second in yards after the catch. Against the 49ers, Kraft ran through a tackle and then ran over Josh Myers on his way to a red-zone touchdown. Against the Dolphins, he caught six passes and gained 61 yards after the catch. He never goes out of bounds willingly. He seeks out contact. He always finishes forward. In an era of smaller off-ball linebackers and smaller defensive backs, Kraft can be a bowling ball when he gets into the open field.
Reed doesn’t pack the same punch as Jacobs and Kraft, but he ranks first among receivers in rushing yards, second among receivers in missed tackles forced as a runner and ninth among receivers in yards after the catch. Last week, he turned a simple jet sweep handoff into a 23-yard gain by forcing three missed tackles. On one of his two touchdowns, Reed skipped past a tackle attempt and scored. He is quick and slippery — a psycho of a different sort but psychotic all the same.
This is a winning identity. In their own unique ways, Jacobs, Kraft and Reed can whittle away at a defense’s willpower and create all the hidden yards that change situations and help win football games. They are special players when they have the ball, and the Packers must do everything in their power to make sure all three are well-fed down the stretch when the games get bigger and the weather gets colder.
The production has proof of concept. On a chilly night at Lambeau Field against the Dolphins last Thursday, Jacobs, Kraft and Reed turned 33 touches into 242 yards and three scores. Miami missed a season-high 23 total tackles defensively and were overmatched physically.
This can by the way. The Packers are no longer a finesse football team. Psycho ball-carriers like Jacobs. Kraft and Reed have given LaFleur’s team a big-time punch.
This team can finally throw haymakers. Thursday night at Ford Field would be a good time to have the psychos take their best swing at the top contender.