Josh Jacobs scored twice on Thursday night, but he did it without much help from the ground game. Green Bay beat Carolina 27-19 at Lambeau Field in Week 8. Yahoo Sports noted that Jacobs managed just 52 yards on his 27 touches. ESPN's recap said Carolina made a game of it late before the Packers held on.
The box score backs up the Yahoo line. Jacobs ran 21 times for 39 yards, 1.9 per carry, with a long of 6 and one rushing touchdown. He also caught six passes on six targets for 13 yards and a second score. Green Bay as a team ran 26 times for 66 yards, 2.5 per carry. The offense worked through the air: Jordan Love went 30-of-41 for 288 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Christian Watson had 8 catches for 113 yards, and Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft each caught a touchdown pass.
The Packers were ahead 27-12 after three quarters, having scored 6, 14 and 7 in the first three. They were shut out in the fourth, while Carolina scored six. Green Bay was 9-of-16 on third down, was 3-for-3 in the red zone, and finished with 354 yards to Carolina's 258. It also turned the ball over three times. Acme Packing Company's Justis Mosqueda framed the game around pressure on Bryce Young. The numbers support that. Young was sacked six times for 33 yards and finished 23-of-41 for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Panthers converted 5 of 18 third downs.
The result puts Green Bay at 5-3, fourth in the NFC North, with one win after a 20-17 loss at Detroit on Oct. 25. Jacobs scored a receiving touchdown in that game too, so he has found the end zone three times in his last two outings. Mosqueda's recap also covers the pregame and halftime ceremonies: Kevin Harlan spoke on behalf of his father, who was added to the team's ring of honor. The feed summary cuts off there, so we can't say more about it.
Carolina falls to 3-4 but is still first in the NFC South. The Panthers have lost two straight, following a 43-13 defeat to Tampa Bay on Oct. 25, and that run comes right after a 25-14 win at Philadelphia on Oct. 18. Young's line shows the problem. Carolina couldn't sustain drives or protect him on Thursday.
Both teams play Sunday, Nov. 8. Green Bay travels to New England, and Carolina hosts Denver. Whether Jacobs can turn his volume into yards will matter for a Packers team that leaned on Love's arm this week.
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