GREEN BAY – Since the 2024 season began, complementary football has been a popular buzzword around the Packers’ locker room.
There may be no better example of that than Green Bay’s offense being off to its best start on the ground in 61 years, racking up 1,003 rushing yards through its first six games.
Newcomer Josh Jacobs (108 carries for 462 yards and a touchdown) and second-year running back Emanuel Wilson (42-210) lead the way for the Packers’ second-ranked rushing offense, which is averaging 167.2 yards per game this season.
Green Bay leads the NFL with 594 first-half rushing yards and is one of two teams with at least 500 (Washington is No. 2 with 530). The Packers have rushed for 160-plus yards four times, second behind only Baltimore (five), which is also the first time the Packers have rushed for 160-plus yards four times in the first six games since 1963.
“I think the guys have been doing a great job up front,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “We’ve been breaking tackles. It also helps the receiver plays that we have whether it’s Bo (Melton) or (Jayden) Reed. Those guys are accumulating a lot of yards for us in the run game. It’s a lot of people who are contributing to it and that’s helping us.”
To Sirmans’ point, buoying the Packers’ 4-2 start has been a multifaceted offense that’s turned to a variety of playmakers to generate yards. That includes backup quarterback Malik Willis, who scrambled for 114 yards and a touchdown while leading back-to-back wins over Indianapolis and Tennessee.
Out of the receiver room, Jayden Reed (110 rushing yards and a TD on nine carries) and Bo Melton (35 yards on four carries) have provided an additional boost on end-arounds and pre-snap motions. Even tight end Tucker Kraft gained a couple yards on a third-and-1 direct snap during Sunday’s 34-13 win over Arizona.
“When you got guys on the field who can run the ball or get the ball in their hands, you gotta prepare for it,” Melton said. “I think they do a really good job here just getting different guys the ball at different moments – inside, outside, pass, everything.”
Running wideouts and backs on motions and orbiting them into the backfield is nothing new in Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s offense. It’s been a staple since Green Bay first claimed Tyler Ervin on waivers late in the 2019 season.
Where Reed brings things to a different level is his ability to line up…
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