The Green Bay Packers‘ one-two punch in the run game is led by Aaron Jones, who is having a monster season. Through 10 weeks, the third-year running back has 14 total touchdowns: 11 rushing and three receiving. Jones has 943 yards from scrimmage with 589 rushing and 354 receiving. He is the “first Packers running back to log multiple three-touchdown games in a season since Jim Taylor, who did it three times in 1962,” according to Jordan J. Wilson of heavy.com. There’s no question that Jones is having a career-changing season.
Green Bay Packers Running Back, Aaron Jones, Is Having a Monster Season
Aaron Jones is having a career-changing, monster season, and he has head coach, Matt LaFleur, to thank. LaFleur believes in the run game and especially in Jones. Therefore, he is willing to give the young back more carries than the previous head coach, Mike McCarthy, was.
In his rookie year (2017), Jones played in 12 games and had 81 rushes and four total touchdowns. Last year, he played in 12 games again and had 133 rushes and nine total touchdowns. He’s played in all 10 games so far in 2019 and has 135 rushes and 14 total touchdowns. This man is a touchdown machine. Jones getting more rushes isn’t just positive for him. It’s made a huge difference in the Packers’ offense.
According to ESPN, while playing in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, Jones is most successful with 13 rushing attempts, 93 yards, 7.2 average yards per carry, and three touchdowns. This certainly bodes well since Green Bay will likely be below 40 degrees for the rest of the season. Additionally, ESPN’s stats reflect that Jones has his best performances against the NFC first and divisional rivals second. When facing NFC teams, Jones racks up 423 yards on 92 rushing attempts with 4.6 average yards per carry and nine touchdowns. Against divisional rivals, the young back gets 202 yards on 47 rushing attempts with 4.3 yards per carry and one touchdown. The Packers end the season with three out the remaining six in less than 40 degrees environments. All six games are against NFC or division opponents.
Teammates Taking Notice of Jones
Because of Jones’ stellar year, his teammates are singing his praises. In his post-game press conference last Sunday following their win over the Carolina Panthers, starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, gave his running back some love. He said, “Well, I know that Christian [McCaffrey] is a very talented player, and he has been mentioned in the MVP race. So, maybe it’s time to start talking about Aaron Jones.”
The media asked star wide receiver Davante Adams if Jones should be in the MVP conversation. Adams must have agreed with Rodgers’ sentiment. He said, “I don’t see why not, man. I mean, if they’re talking about McCaffrey as MVP, I don’t see why not. They’re both getting a lot of touches and Aaron’s making them count, man. I’ve made it pretty clear about how I feel about our one-two punch, so he’s leading that thing and he’s been doing a great job, really consistent. His body’s been holding up — knock on wood — so I don’t see why not.” Adams and Rodgers aren’t the only Packers talking about Aaron Jones for MVP. Marquez Valdes-Scantling tweeted, “33 4 MVP”.
For years, Green Bay has put the whole offense on Rodgers’ back. Finally, they have a coach who is willing to trust the run game and give Jones more touches. If Jones continues racking up yards and touchdowns at this rate, his success will become harder to ignore.
