2024-09-16 13:10:02
- Josh Jacobs was the workhorse, with just one regrettable play.
Jacobs had 20 carries for 128 yards by halftime, and he finished with 32 for 151, one carry shy of his single-game career high for rushing attempts. That’s quite the workload on an 85-degree day, tied for the second-hottest home game in team history.
There’s just one play he’d love to have back – first-and-goal from the Indy 4 early in the second quarter. Jacobs found an opening and appeared to be lunging for the goal line and a touchdown that would’ve put the Packers up 17-0 just three offensive possessions into the game.
But the ball squirted out as he was hit from the right, and the Colts recovered in the end zone.
“I don’t think I can articulate what was going through my mind on that fumble,” LaFleur joked. “But that happens. Josh, I’m sure he was more sick about it than I was. He ran so hard today and he always does.
“He’s a great teammate and a great leader for our football team. What did he have, 30 carries? I mean, he put in a good day’s work, I’d say. So I know obviously that can be costly, and luckily for us it didn’t cost us.”
The Packers also left points out there when rookie kicker Brayden Narveson missed a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that would’ve pushed the lead to 16 points. For the second straight game, Narveson was 3-for-4 on field goals, with both misses coming wide right from the left hash.
- The defense bounced back nicely from last week and stood tall, particularly in key moments.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson ended up throwing for 204 yards and Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 on just 12 carries. But interceptions by Xavier McKinney in the first quarter and Eric Wilson in the fourth thwarted potential scoring drives. Those were sandwiched around a fourth-down stop near midfield in the third quarter that helped keep the Colts scoreless for more than 40 minutes.
The approach against Richardson was much the same as it was the week prior against Philly’s Jalen Hurts, not wanting the opposing QB to make plays with his legs. Rushing the passer was more about containing him than sacking him, and it worked.
“I know there was a couple plays he got out (of the pocket) late, but I thought for the most part, they did a really good job of just being disciplined,” LaFleur said of the defense, which held Richardson to five yards rushing until the last two minutes, when he pushed his total to 37. “(We were) trying to collapse the pocket, get in front of him and force him to make some bad decisions.”
The defense also got a pair of stops to force field-goal attempts, one of which was missed, from 50 yards out early in the fourth quarter. It would’ve pulled the Colts within 13-6 and changed the complexion of things.
- The bottom line: If the Packers need to play another game or two without Love, they’ve proven they can win.
“You know adversity’s coming every week in this league,” LaFleur said. “You face it obviously going into the game when you don’t have your star quarterback, and you’ve just got to find a way to win.
“Because at the end of the day, nobody cares. This game is about winning, and you’ve got to do it, however you’ve got to find a way, and our guys found a way.”
