Josh Jacobs seeks to lose NFL record, Xavier McKinney out to set one
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs holds an NFL record. The Packers are scheming to make sure he doesn’t.
“We’ve talked about that, oh yeah,” Green Bay offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said on Thursday. “That’s something that’s on our minds, for sure. Get rid of that record. He got the record, so now we don’t need to prolong it any further than it’s already gone. …
“Hopefully, we can get him a receiving touchdown. That’d be good. We got him a rushing touchdown last week. That was nice by him to make that play and make some guys miss. That was a big-time play.”
Jacobs reached the end zone on a 2-yard run to start the scoring in the Packers’ 24-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for his first touchdown for Green Bay. After five seasons with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, Jacobs joined the Packers as a free agent in March.
Sunday’s touchdown was the 47th of Jacobs’ career – all on the ground, which is where the record comes in.
With 205 receptions, including eight this season for Green Bay, Jacobs has the most in NFL history without a touchdown reception.
During the Packers’ 31-29 loss to Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 29, Jacobs replaced Gerald Riggs as the record-holder.
Riggs played in the NFL from 1982 through 1991 and was a three-time Pro Bowl running back for the Atlanta Falcons. He totaled 8,188 yards and 69 touchdowns on 1,989 carries, including a league-leading 397 rushing attempts in 1985, when he piled up 1,719 yards on the ground.
Riggs’ 201 career receptions resulted in 1,516 yards, but none went for touchdowns.
“I mean, I really don’t care,” Jacobs said on Friday. “If I get it, I get it. Every week, I feel like we have a few of them in the red zone where the backs can potentially get the ball. But I mean, I don’t care. If I get one, I do. If I don’t, it is what it is.”
Against the Rams, Jacobs had his longest reception of the season for a 21-yard gain, but he was tackled at the Los Angeles 20-yard line. The longest reception of Jacobs’ career – a 43-yarder – ended at the Denver Broncos 7-yard line in the Raiders’ 22-16 victory on Nov. 20, 2022.
“I think it just depends on the game,” Jacobs said of his chances of catching a touchdown pass. “It depends on the defense and how they’re playing us. But I like me in open space in any situation, any scenario, so we’ll see.”
Jacobs isn’t the only offseason free-agent signee and Alabama alumnus setting records for the Packers this season. Safety Xavier McKinney became the first player with an interception in each of his first five games with a team by picking off Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on Sunday.
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McKinney intercepted two passes in his final game with the New York Giants in the 2023 regular-season finale. With six consecutive games with an interception, McKinney is tied for the longest streak in the NFL’s AFC-NFC era. It had been done eight previous times, most recently by former Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.
Before 1970, four players had interception streaks of seven or more games, led by former Georgianna High School star Tommy Morrow, who intercepted a pass in each of the final four games of the 1962 season and first four games of the 1963 season for the Oakland Raiders in the AFL.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Paul Krause in 1964, St. Louis Cardinals’ Larry Wilson in 1966 and Cleveland Browns’ Ben Davis in 1968 had seven-game interception streaks in the NFL prior to the merger of the leagues.
Jacobs and McKinney were Alabama teammates in 2017 and 2018.
“I told him if he gets two more, he might as well call it off as the Defensive Player of the Year,” Jacobs said. “The way he’s playing right now, the things he’s doing, it’s crazy.
“It’s so crazy for me because I’ve seen him since his first day in college to now. I’m just proud of him. All the work that he put in. He’s very intentional. He’s definitely that alpha on that defense. He’s one of them guys that’s going to come in and he’s going to be mad if guys are not meeting his standard and meeting the standard that we set as a team. He holds everybody accountable, so you got to love that.”
Jacobs will seek his first NFL touchdown reception and McKinney his record-setting interception against the Arizona Cardinals, who visit Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at noon CDT Sunday.
“When you talk about their defense, you start with (safety) Budda Baker,” Jacobs said. “He’s all around the ball on every clip. He negates a lot of big plays for other offenses, so I think that locating him and knowing where he is at all times is the biggest thing. …
“I mean, yeah, he makes them right. He comes down flying. I mean, he might be 15 yards, but he’s meeting the ball for a 2-yard gain. He’s coming in flying. He has great instincts. He’s a great player.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.