It’s officially go time for Green Bay. The Packers are 6-3-1 and sit second in the NFC North, but have cooled off in the past few weeks. Green Bay has lost two of its last three and needed a late push to defeat a depleted Giants team.
This final seven-game stretch will shape their season, with five divisional matchups on the schedule, including a Week 12 meeting with the Vikings at Lambeau. To get through it, the Packers will need all their key players available, especially Josh Jacobs, whose status is still uncertain.
What is Josh Jacobs’ Status?
On the Packers’ final injury report ahead of Week 12, three-time Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs was listed as questionable with a knee injury.
The issue traces back to Week 11 against the Giants. Jacobs said the injury happened on the second play of the game, when he was tackled while heading out of bounds and drove his knee into the unforgiving MetLife turf. After that, he was in and out of the lineup before heading to the locker room, where he was eventually ruled out.
NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that Jacobs is a true game-time decision for the Packers.
“Packers plan to work out RB Josh Jacobs, who is listed as questionable due to a knee injury, in pre-game warmups before deciding whether or not he will play vs. the Vikings, per source,” Schefter wrote on X. “Though Jacobs knee is structurally sound, it still is tender from last week and the Packers have another game in four days on Thanksgiving in Detroit to consider. But the team wants to see how Jacobs feels pregame before making any decisions.”
On Monday, Packers reporter Rob Demovsky noted that Jacobs’ injury wasn’t considered serious. Later that day, head coach Matt LaFleur said the former NFL rushing leader could even suit up for Week 12 against Minnesota and added that injured reserve was never part of the discussion.
Wednesday brought a DNP for Jacobs, which wasn’t the ideal start to the week, but that concern eased quickly. He returned as a limited participant on Thursday and appeared to be moving well. After practice, Jacobs spoke with reporters and said, “If I don’t play this week, Thursday I am definitely playing. It’s not like something that will linger past that.” His comments made it clear he expects to be back soon.
On Friday, LaFleur offered another encouraging update. According to Packers reporter Zack Kruse, the coach said, “Just talking to him, he’s feeling pretty good.” The 27-year-old logged another limited practice, which leads us to his questionable tag for Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings.
On November 20, Dr. Jesse Morse weighed in, pointing out that the Packers are generally conservative when it comes to medical decisions. He suggested they may hold Jacobs out, and that if he does play, he could be limited. Morse added that sitting him in Week 12 would put him in a better position to return fully in Week 13, which aligns with what both LaFleur and Jacobs have said.
Ranked No. 12 on PFSN’s RB Impact Ranking, Jacobs remains a true 50/50 for Week 12. We’ll know more closer to kickoff, but there’s no question Green Bay wants its All-Pro RB on the field against Minnesota.
Green Bay Packers’ Insights for Week 12
Team: Green Bay finishes with five of seven games against NFC North teams, including a road game against Detroit. The other two games are a trip to face the Broncos and a home game against the Ravens.
QB: Jordan Love’s QBi score of 79.1 (C+) was 7th in the league for Week 11. It was the 8th time in ten games that Love ranked in the QBi Top Ten. He’s 4th overall on the season rankings.
Offense: Green Bay has seven turnovers this season and is 1-3-1 when it has at least one turnover. The Packers are 5-0 when they don’t turn the ball over.
Defense: Micah Parsons led the NFL in Week 11 with a PFSN EDGE Impact Rankings (EDGEi) score of 85.8, earning a grade of B. It’s the second week he’s had a top EDGEi in the league. Overall, he’s 11th in the league for the season.
Fantasy: Jordan Love struggled against the Minnesota pressure last season, completing just 10-of-27 passes when feeling the heat with more interceptions (two) than touchdowns (one). On the whole, in 2024, he averaged 15.4% fewer fantasy points per pass against the divisional rival than the rest of the NFL.
