As good as Jordan Love has been over the past month, including a near-perfect game in the Green Bay Packers’ 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Aaron Jones is arguably playing even better. Jones is in the midst of the best stretch of his career, and we can attribute the crescendo at the end of this season to how Matt LaFleur has managed his workload.
Jones has had stretches where he’s looked like one of the best running backs on the planet before, but he hasn’t opened everything up for the Packers’ offense over the past four games. The hamstring injury he suffered in the Week 1 win over Chicago lingered for the better part of the season. It wasn’t until the Christmas Eve win over Carolina that LaFleur dialed up a full workload for the 29-year-old. He’s had over 20 carries for now four-straight games, which is significant, especially considering that Jones had never even had three consecutive games with 20-plus carries before this season.
There was ample concern about signing an aging running back to a four-year, $48 million extension in 2021. But the deal became more palatable because there were still plenty of miles left on Jones. The Packers signed him despite a long list of ailments over his career, ranging from an MCL injury in 2017 to a chest injury in the 2021 NFC Championship game. But LaFleur has been cautious, sometimes almost to a fault (#FreeAaronJones), with the number of carries he gave Jones.
Since LaFleur took over as Green Bay’s head coach and play-caller in 2019, Jones has finished 15th, 10th, 24th, 15th, and 40th in total carries among all running backs. Various ailments and missed games have kept some of those totals down, but the sheer number of carries that Jones has tallied pales in comparison to some of the league’s leaders. He’s had just 963 carries over those five seasons, almost 600 fewer than Derrick Henry‘s league-leading 1,529 over that span.
Jones’ fresher legs and veteran savvy have really shown up over the past month. Jones called the coin toss and won it. Then he elected for the Packers to receive and absolutely backed it up on Green Bay’s opening drive. A zero-yard gain and a loss of three yards could have provided for an ominous start. But once Green Bay got to midfield, the Packers went right back to Jones four-straight times to get into the red zone. Emanuel Wilson gave Jones a quick spell before Jones came back in to punch in the touchdown on his seventh carry of the opening drive.
Green Bay’s opening drive set the tone for the rest of the game and opened up a world of possibilities for Jordan Love. Jones had 21 carries, which Love’s 21 pass attempts balanced perfectly, leaving Dan Quinn and the Cowboys’ defense searching for answers. The balance provides a vicious cycle for defenses. Jones’ productivity increases Love’s efficiency, creating more opportunities for Jones. He’s in his seventh season in the league, but Jones isn’t showing the wear and tear of a running back closing in on 30 years old.
If Green Bay continues their Cinderella run in a team buoyed by rookies and second-year skill players, it will need to be the wily veteran leading the way. The San Francisco 49ers are better and deeper than Dallas on both sides of the ball, and Jones will need to churn both yards and clock if the Packers are going to keep pace with the Niners.
Another 100-plus yard day will absolutely be a necessity, and he’ll almost assuredly need to find the end zone again, too. Luckily for Green Bay, using Jones early and often to set the tone seems like it will be at the forefront of the offensive game plan. If he can continue to play at the peak of his powers as he has over the past four weeks, the Packers just might have a chance to make things interesting. But Jones still has enough tread on the tires to make that a distinct possibility.
