Packers running back Josh Jacobs may be done for the day in New England.
Jacobs went to the locker room during the Packers’ third possession of the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Patriots. The Packers announced that he is considered questionable to return due to a hand injury.
Jacobs ran four times for five yards before heading inside. He got his hand caught in the facemask of Patriots safety Craig Woodson on one of those runs and it seems likely that’s when he was injured.
MarShawn Lloyd is inactive, so Pierre Strong and Kaleb Johnson are the other available running backs for Green Bay. The Packers lead 14-0 with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Packers Clips
Jordan Love is the fifth quarterback in Packers history to throw 100 touchdown passes while with the team.
Love’s 100th came on a five-yard toss to wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Patriots. The score pushed the Packers’ lead to 14-0 with eight minutes to play in the opening quarter.
Love joins Bart Starr, Lynn Dickey, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ century club. He also ran 13 yards for the first Packers score of the day.
Golden also had catches of 16 and 49 yards to set up the touchdown. Those are all three of Love’s completions on the day and they’ve been productive ones.
The Packers are out to a quick lead in New England.
Drake Maye threw an interception on his first pass of the day and the Packers turned it into their first points of the day. Jordan Love scrambled for a 13-yard score and the Packers are up 7-0 with just over two minutes off the clock.
Maye’s pass for Mack Hollins was snagged by Packers safety Xavier McKinney near midfield and he returned it inside the Patriots’ 15-yard-line. Love scored two plays later and the Patriots’ second drive didn’t go much better.
A short run and an incompletion were followed by an Isaiah McDuffie sack, so the Patriots will need to figure out something different if they want to keep this one from turning into a Packers runaway.
The Patriots will be missing wide receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs on Sunday, but they will have tight end Hunter Henry as a target for quarterback Drake Maye.
Henry is active after being listed as questionable on Friday due to a foot injury that kept him out of practice for two days this week. Safety Kevin Byard, cornerback Carlton Davis, right tackle Morgan Moses, special teamer Brenden Schooler, and guard Greg Van Roten are also playing after drawing questionable tags.
Brown, cornerback Charles Woods, running back TreVeyon Henderson, offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover, and quarterback Behren Morton are inactive for New England.
Cornerback Keisean Nixon has a groin injury, just he is active for the Packers. Running back MarShawn Lloyd, linebacker Zaire Franklin, offensive lineman Donovan Jennings, center Sean Rhyan, offensive lineman Travis Glover, and tight end Josh Whyle are out for Green Bay.
The Patriots won’t have A.J. Brown or Romeo Doubs on Sunday, but they will be getting another wide receiver back from injury against the Packers.
They have activated Mack Hollins from injured reserve. Hollins returned to practice this week after missing the last four games with a calf injury.
Hollins had 15 catches for 209 yards in four appearances before his injury. He had 46 catches for 550 yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Patriots.
Brown will miss his second straight game with a knee injury and Doubs remains on injured reserve. Pop Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams join Hollins as the available receivers on the 53-man roster for New England.
The NFC North is the best division in the NFL. As evidenced by how the teams of the NFC North have performed against the rest of the league.
The Vikings, Bears, Lions, and Packers have a combined record of 17-3 against non-NFC North teams. Via NBC Sports research, the ensuing 85 percent success rate is the highest by any division in the NFL since the 1970 merger.
In theory, all four teams of the NFC North could make the playoffs. To do that, however, each would have to finish higher in the wild-card pecking order than the Rams and the Seahawks (assuming the 49ers win the NFC West).
This week, two teams of the NFC North have an easier path to victory than the others; the Bears host the Buccaneers and the Lions visit the Dolphins.
For the Packers (who play the Patriots in New England) and the Vikings (who play the Bills on Monday night), it will be harder to keep pushing 17-3 to 21-3.
The Patriots officially ruled out wide receiver A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness).
Coach Mike Vrabel had already announced both would miss Sunday’s game against the Packers.
Brown has played only three games this season, with the most recent coming on Oct. 22. Henderson released a statement on Friday saying that he was recently hospitalized for neurological reasons and that he is working with medical professionals to return to health.
Tight end Hunter Henry (foot), cornerback Marcus Jones (foot), safety Kevin Byard III (chest), cornerback Carlton Davis III (neck), wide receiver Mack Hollins (calf), offensive tackle Morgan Moses (foot), safety Brenden Schooler (hamstring) and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten (hamstring) are questionable.
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (illness), outside linebacker Gabe Jacas (knee), linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder/knee), cornerback Marcus Jones (foot) and quarterback Drake Maye (right shoulder) do not have a game status for Sunday. All five were full participants.
The Packers will have wide receiver Christian Watson in the lineup against the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
Watson was limited in practice all week because of injured ribs, but he doesn’t have an injury designation for Green Bay’s trip to New England. That’s also the case for guard Aaron Banks (calf) and safety Jevon Bullard (personal).
Cornerback Keisean Nixon (groin) returned to practice after sitting out on Thursday and is listed as questionable. Running back MarShawn Lloyd (knee) is in the same category while linebacker Zaire Franklin (shin), offensive lineman Travis Glover (knee), center Sean Rhyan (knee), and tight end Josh Whyle (concussion) have been ruled out.
The team said earlier in the week that defensive end Micah Parsons (knee) won’t be activated from injured reserve. Running back Chris Brooks (ankle) is also eligible to be activated and he is considered questionable heading into the weekend.
It will be another Sunday without wide receiver A.J. Brown for the Patriots.
Head coach Mike Vrabel ruled Brown out for this weekend’s home game against the Packers during his Friday press conference. Brown also missed last Sunday’s game due to a knee injury and did not practice at all this week. Brown missed four games while on injured reserve with an ankle injury and the ankle remains part of his listing on the injury report as well.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson will also miss the game for New England. Henderson released a statement on Friday saying that he was recently hospitalized for neurological reasons and that he is working with medical professionals to return to health.
Vrabel also said that tight end Hunter Henry (foot) and cornerback Marcus Jones (foot) will be listed as questionable to play this weekend.
Patriots running back Treveyon Henderson, who missed the Week 8 game against the Dolphins with an illness, remains absent from practice due to illness.
On Friday morning, Henderson posted a statement on social media regarding his health situation.
“Recently, I experienced an unexpected and unusual medical emergency involving a series of unexplained neurological symptoms that required hospitalization for several days,” Henderson said. “During that time, I underwent extensive medical testing and evaluation. While the results of my comprehensive medical testing have come back positive and reassuring, the cause of this remains unknown and unexplainable.
“I will continue working closely with specialists and physical therapists to focus on my recovery, as these symptoms have affected my strength, coordination, and some of my physical functions. I am committed to doing everything necessary to return to full health.
“My health and long-term well-being remain my foremost priorities.
“I want to thank my wife for being by my side throughout all of this, and most importantly, I want to thank Jesus for giving me a peace that surpasses all understanding. Despite all of this, my heart rejoices in The Lord and my heart is at peace knowing that He is always faithful and His promise of Romans 8:28 always remain true. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.’ The purpose of trials in life is not to drive us away from God, but to only bring us closer. May God’s Will be done, not mine.
“My wife and I are deeply grateful for family and loved ones, the New England Patriots organization, my agent, my medical team, teammates, and everyone who has offered prayers, encouragement, and support.
“We respectfully ask for continued prayers and privacy as we focus on my health and recovery.”
Based on the Week 8 injury report, which first listed Henderson as having an illness on Thursday, the situation occurred between Wednesday’s practice and Thursday’s practice. Based on his statement, he could be out for a while; if his “strength, coordination, and some of [his] physical functions” have been undermined, it’s hard to envision him safely playing professional football.
We wish Henderson the best as he recovers, and as he tries to understand what occurred.
