Wide receiver Romeo Doubs returned to practice for the Packers on Monday.
Doubs did not practice at all last week and missed the Thanksgiving win over the Dolphins with a concussion. He was a limited participant in Monday’s practice, which indicates that he’s made progress toward clearing the concussion protocol and could return to the lineup against the Lions on Thursday.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) was also limited after missing last week and last Thursday. He last played in a game on November 17.
Cornerback Corey Ballentine (knee), linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring), and left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee) were listed as non-participants. Cooper did not play in last Thursday’s game.
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark (rest), tight end John FitzPatrick (back), running back Josh Jacobs (calf), linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (ankle), center Josh Myers (pectoral), left tackle Rasheed Walker (knee), and defensive tackle Colby Wooden (shoulder) were the other limited participants.
The Lions are playing on Thursday again this week and that meant they turned in an injury report for their matchup with the Packers on Monday.
It shows that four players did not take part in practice. Left tackle Taylor Decker missed the Thanksgiving win over the Bears with a knee injury, so Dan Skipper may be in line for another start.
Defensive linemen Josh Paschal (knee), Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), and D.J. Reader (shoulder) were also out of practice. The Lions signed multiple defensive linemen after last Thursday’s game left them thin in that area.
Cornerback Carlton Davis (knee) was limited in practice while cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) was listed as a full participant.
The NFL is a copycat league. And the Cardinals have opted not to repeat the mistakes of teams like the Giants, Titans, and Raiders.
Those teams watched high-end tailbacks walk away earlier this year, in Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs, respectively. The Cardinals won’t let that happen with James Conner.
At a reported two-years and $19 million (the full structure will reveal the true value and extent of the commitment), Conner’s deal is better on its face than the two-year, $16 million signed by Henry with the Ravens in March.
But Henry got his deal before the NFL gained a new appreciation for running backs. Not all of them. Just the very best of them.
That’s ultimately the line of demarcation. The average running back can be swapped out for a younger, cheaper, healthier model. Great running backs can’t easily be replaced.
And Conner was poised to be one of the few accomplished running backs on the market in 2025. With Conner signed, the next question becomes whether the Steelers (who let Conner, a former Pitt star and cancer survivor, leave as a free agent in 2021) will re-sign Najee Harris. Whether Harris stays in Pittsburgh or goes elsewhere, it will be interesting to see what he gets, especially since the Steelers opted not to exercise the fifth-year option on the former first-round pick.
He would have made $6.7 million next year. under the option. The way the market is going, Harris has a very good chance to do better than that.
With 749 yards rushing in 11 games, Harris is on pace for his fourth 1,000-yard season in four years. Given that the Steelers replaced Conner with Harris in 2021, will they try to do it again — or will they employ the lesson learned the hard way by New York, Tennessee, and Las Vegas?
The Packers gave running back Josh Jacobs a big workload of 26 carries on Sunday. Then they gave him 19 more carries, plus four catches, on Thursday. Packers coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t think there’s another running back who can do what Jacobs does.
LaFleur was asked by reporters today how many running backs could handle 49 touches in five days.
“Probably only one,” LaFleur answered.
For the record, Texans running back Joe Mixon had 54 touches in a five-day span last month, so Jacobs isn’t the only running back in the NFL who can handle that kind of workload. But Jacobs is certainly doing everything asked of him in the Packers’ offense, and is going to be a big part of Green Bay’s game plan down the stretch and into the playoffs.
After Thursday night’s loss to the Packers, Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said the Dolphins were “soft.”
“Simple as that, I thought we were soft today,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if guys was too cold. . . . I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”
On Friday, coach Mike McDaniel was asked for his reaction to the comment.
“I think specifically what Jordyn was talking about, I think that has to do with the tackling or the lack thereof,” McDaniel told reporters. “So much of the production over 100-some odd yards for them offensively was as a result of tackling, and I think that was a collective issue. It’s two-fold, really.
“In my mind, it’s hard for me to assess 100 percent with conviction opinion one way or the other, but I think two things were at play; I saw a consistent failure of tacklers to bring their feet through the tackle, just picture diving and leaving your feet to try to wrap up, as opposed to bringing your feet through the tackle which is our No. 1 fundamental emphasis when we do that. Whether that was because of the cold or the short week, either way both things are consistent with the opponent; the opponent has a short week and the opponent is playing in that weather.”
Whatever the cause, the trip to Lambeau Field didn’t work out for the Dolphins. Cold-weather games don’t work out for the Dolphins.
While the Dolphins wanted to kill some narratives by playing well in a cold-weather game, the Packers were the ones to come away with a 30-17 victory to cap the NFL’s 2024 Thanksgiving slate.
Quarterback Jordan Love passed for 274 yards with a pair of touchdowns, helping Green Bay control the game for much of the night.
The Packers built a 24-3 halftime lead with Love completing a pair of TD passes to Jayden Reed — a 3-yard catch in the first quarter and a 12-yard catch in the second quarter. Running back Josh Jacobs also had a 1-yard score late in the first quarter and Brandon McManus sent a 46-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired in the second quarter.
McManus added field goals of 24 and 33 yards in the second half to round out Green Bay’s scoring.
Down 27-3, the Dolphins started to make it a game in the third quarter with De’Von Achane’s 14-yard touchdown catch. Tua Tagovailoa connected with Jaylen Waddle on the two-point conversion to make it 27-11.
But the Dolphins couldn’t bring it closer in the fourth quarter, despite three plays from the Green Bay 1-yard line. Raheem Mostert was stuffed for no gain on second down, Tagovailoa was nearly intercepted on a pass to Jonnu Smith on third down, and Tagovailoa was then sacked for a turnover on downs.
The Packers got a 33-yard field goal on their ensuing drive to make it a three-possession game and effectively seal their victory.
Though Tyreek Hill caught a 12-yard touchdown from Tagovialoa with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter — just his fourth TD of the year — the Dolphins didn’t convert their two-point conversion, keeping the club down by 13.
Tagovailoa ended the contest 37-of-46 for 364 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Smith led with 10 receptions for 113 yards. Hill had six catches for 83 yards with a score.
The Dolphins had a lot of trouble running it, tallying just 39 yards on 14 carries.
Love finished the game 21-of-28 for 274 yards with two TDs and no picks — good for a 129.2 passer rating. Josh Jacobs rushed for just 43 yards on 19 carries with a TD, but he also caught four passes for 74 yards — including a career-long 49-yard reception. Tucker Kraft led with six passes for 78 yards.
With the win, the Packers are now 9-3 and have a big matchup with 11-1 Detroit next Thursday night.
The 5-7 Dolphins will host the Jets in Week 14.
It took until late in the third quarter, but the Dolphins have found the end zone and have made it a two-possession game.
De’Von Achane scored a 14-yard touchdown on a screen pass, with Tua Tagovailoa hitting Jaylen Waddle in the end zone for a successful two-point conversion. That made the score 27-11 — leaving Green Bay with a 16-point lead.
Miami was efficient on the possession, facing just one third down. Though the club did not convert third-and-1 with Raheem Mostert getting stuffed for no gain, Tagovailoa found Jonnu Smith for a 16-yard completion on fourth-and-1 to move the chains.
A 16-yard pass to Waddle put Miami on Green Bay’s 14. And on the next play, Achane found the end zone for his sixth receiving touchdown of the season.
Under duress, Tagovailoa made a nice throw to Waddle with the receiver dragging his feet in the end zone to convert the two-point attempt.
The Dolphins have ruled out cornerback Cam Smith with a shoulder injury suffered in the first half.
Packers cornerback Corey Ballentine was also ruled out with a knee injury.
Quarterback Tua Tagovialoa said this week that the Dolphins were excited to kill narratives about how the team plays in cold weather.
But through two quarters, those narratives are still alive and well, as the Packers have dominated the first two quarters and lead 24-3 at halftime.
The Packers technically didn’t score on their first drive, but they were able to get the ball back on a muffed punt and then got in the end zone with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed.
On their next possession, Josh Jacobs scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, putting the ball in the paint with a 1-yard run.
Then Love again connected with Reed for the team’s third TD. This time, Reed took a screen pass 12 yards to the end zone.
Miami scored its lone field goal midway through the second quarter with Jason Sanders hitting from 33 yards. The Dolphins got into Green Bay territory late in the same period, but Tagovailoa’s fourth-and-5 pass sailed over De’Von Achane for a turnover on downs.
With three timeouts and 22 seconds on the ensuing drive, the Packers perfectly executed three plays to set up Brandon McManus for a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Love completed 11-of-15 passes for 111 yards with two touchdowns in the first half. Jacobs has 33 yards on 11 carries to lead the team. Tucker Kraft leads with four catches for 52 yards.
On the other side, Tagovailoa ended the first half 14-of-19 for 118 yards. Tyreek Hill has just one catch for 2 yards.
The Dolphins have not been able to run the ball at all, as Tagovailoa leads the team with 6 yards on 2 carries.
Miami is just 1-of-6 on third down and has 121 yards and eight first downs. In contrast, Green Bay has 12 first downs, 213 total yards, and is 4-of-6 on third down.
The Dolphins have had a couple of injuries on their defense. Cornerback Kader Kohou went down after nearly intercepting a Jordan Love pass in the first quarter. He is questionable to return with a back injury. While Kohou was evaluated for a concussion, he was cleared. Fellow cornerback Cam Smith went down late in the second quarter as well, testing the depth of the Dolphins’ defensive backfield. He has a shoulder injury and is questionable to return.
Miami defensive lineman Benito Jones also went down midway through the second quarter and is questionable to return with a back injury.
The Dolphins will have a chance to get right to begin the third quarter, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.
The Packers got their first score off a special teams takeaway.
They put it in the box again with a long, sustained drive capped by Josh Jacobs pounding it in for a 1-yard touchdown.
Jacobs’ eighth rushing touchdown of the season ended a 12-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:58 off the clock. Quarterback Jordan Love converted third-and-3 with a 17-yard pass to Tucker Kraft that put Green Bay in Miami territory.
Then on third-and-4, running back Emanuel Wilson’s 15-yard run put the Packers at the Miami 7.
Jacobs went to work from there, taking it 6 yards, then getting the remaining yard on the next play to give Green Bay a 14-0 lead.
The Packers have started the game 3-of-4 on third down.
Green Bay’s special teams have gotten the club off to a strong start against Miami, as the Packers have an early 7-0 lead.
Keisean Nixon began the contest with a 43-yard kick return to the team’s 46-yard line. But Miami’s defense did a good job to pressure Jordan Love into an incomplete pass on third-and-14, bringing up a punt.
But rookie returner Malik Washington muffed the return, with Green Bay’s Robert Rochell recovering the loose ball on the Miami 9-yard line.
Love fully capitalized on the takeaway on third-and-goal, hitting Jayden Reed on the right side for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Packers a seven-point lead.
That made up for Love missing a deep shot to Reed on the first set of downs from second-and-14, as Reed was open but Love overshot him.
It was Love’s 19th touchdown pass of the season.
