GREEN BAY – The knee injury Josh Jacobs suffered last month in New York again flared up for the Packers running back coming out of Sunday's 28-21 win over Chicago.
Jacobs underwent another MRI on Monday in response to swelling he experienced after rushing 20 times for 86 yards and scoring the go-ahead touchdown on Sunday against the Bears.
Tests continued to show no structural damage, but Green Bay held the Pro Bowl running back out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Jacobs considers himself "day-to-day" entering a pivotal Week 15 matchup with the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
"Whenever you get swelling in the joints and everything like that, it just gets really stiff," Jacobs said. "That's really the only thing. I came out clean pretty much last week. It didn't get hit on it or anything like that, but it kind of ballooned up on me a little bit, so they've just been letting me work through that."
The Packers have been monitoring Jacobs since the 5-foot-10, 223-pound running back first sustained a bone bruise and thigh contusion on his second snap during the team's 27-20 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 18.
Jacobs practiced the next week but sat out of the next game against Minnesota out of caution. In Jacobs' stead, third-year veteran Emanuel Wilson rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-6 rout of the Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Jacobs returned on Thanksgiving against Detroit and came out no worse for wear after rushing for 83 yards on 17 carries. He looked even better this past Sunday against Chicago.
The seventh-year veteran made NFL highlight reels after forcing four Bears defenders to whiff on an impressive third-and-2 run that gained 21 yards. Three plays later, Jacobs scored on a 2-yard TD to propel the Packers to a 28-21 lead with a little more than three minutes remaining.
It was Jacobs' eighth TD inside the 5-yard line this season.
"It can be get real grimy," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. "He just has a knack for finding a crease and just hitting it, and doesn't hesitate, and fighting through contact. That's one thing that I think he's really elite at, for sure."
Jacobs told reporters on Thursday he feels "a lot better today than I did yesterday" and that rest is really the only thing that's going to help him heal.
True to form, Jacobs pushed to practice but said team doctors told him to chill and be smart about it. The goal is to reduce the inflammation as much as possible to increase his chances of playing.
In his pre-practice news conference on Thursday, Head Coach Matt LaFleur praised Jacobs for "doing everything in his power to get ready to go." From his perspective, Jacobs said he feels more relief than frustration.
"I've been in this league a long time, and it's not too much that really gets me discouraged or anything like that," Jacobs said.
"We still know what's ahead of us. Now, if we were having this going into the playoffs, it would be a little weird, but at that point I wouldn't care because it's either do or don't. But for me, I know my body, there's nothing structurally wrong, so I don't feel like it's something I have to overly think about."
If Jacobs can't go Sunday, Wilson would be in line to make his second NFL start against the team with whom he broke into the league back in 2023.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of NCAA Division II Fort Valley State (Ga.), Wilson spent just three days with the Broncos before he was released. Ten days later, he signed with the Packers and later made the team's 53-man roster.
The 5-foot-10, 226-pound Wilson has since rushed for 938 yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries (4.6 yards per carry) in 37 games, highlighted by a gratifying career day against Minnesota a few weeks ago.
"I still got that mentality to go out there and do it again," Wilson said. "If (Jacobs) is going, he's going. If I get my opportunity once again, I'm going to take advantage of it."
Whoever starts against Denver understands the challenge its defense presents. In addition to the Broncos pacing the NFL with 55 sacks, they also boast a No. 2-ranked run defense that's allowing just 89.0 yards per game.
Denver hasn't allowed a running back to gain more than 100 yards since Jonathan Taylor's 165-yard effort powered Indianapolis to a 29-28 victory in Week 2.
As much as Jacobs enjoys practicing, he doesn't feel it's a requirement in order for him to play in Denver. It all comes down to how his body is feeling and whether the team doctors give him the green light on Sunday afternoon.
"I always plan to play," Jacobs said. "They gotta kinda tell me I can't play for me not to play. For me, that's where my head is at, but I'm also realistically just day-to-day right now."
