The Green Bay Packers scored 30 or more points against the Panthers for the second time all season last Sunday. It’s the first time he’s scored 30 points since Week 1 against the Bears. But the two games had one thing in common. These were two of the best games of the season for Packers running back Aaron Jones.
Aaron Jones’ impact on the Packers offenseJones had a disappointing season in 2023. He played well in the Packers’ Week 1 win at Chicago, totaling 127 yards rushing and receiving and scoring twice. Unfortunately, he injured his hamstring while scoring his second TD. This caused Jones to miss the next two games, and after returning briefly for the opener against Detroit, he was sidelined for several.
Jones suffered a knee injury against the Chargers during his return. He returned to action against Tampa Bay, but again in net. He ran very well on the first drive, but had limited touches the rest of the game.Historically, Jones has had a major impact on the Green Bay offense. The former UTEP star has rushed for over 100 yards 18 times in his career. The Packers record in those games is 16-2. He has 23 career games with 20 or more touchdowns, 20 of which the Packers won.Aaron Jones helped Packers win at Carolina.
Against the Panthers, Jones was finally able to get on the field without tight plays. The result was 127 rushing yards and 135 total yards. Add in the absence of Christian Watson, Jayden Reid and Luke Musgrave and Jones’ strong performance was even more important. “Obviously we know what kind of player Aaron Jones is,” Jordan Love said. After beating Carolina.
“It was really important that we were able to get him back 100 percent healthy and he had a good day running the ball. [He] made some plays in the passing game as well. When we can get it back to 100%, try to give it as much credit as possible. “We know what kind of player he is,” he said.”Once Aaron Jones becomes a master, it opens up a lot of possibilities for our offense,” added coach Matt LaFleur.
“Offense, we had some running backs today and they were really good. You can’t do that if you don’t run the football effectively.”Jones had a game ball. When LaFleur gave it to him in the locker room, he told the team, “We had our first 100-yard rusher this year. 33 was on fire. Give it up for Aaron Jones.
