Over the previous five seasons, Tennessee fans became accustomed to seeing a running back carry a heavy load as the Titans’ Derrick Henry led the NFL in rushing attempts four times.
On Sunday, they could witness it again. But with Henry now playing for the Baltimore Ravens, an opposing ball-carrier could be the workhorse when the Green Bay Packers visit Tennessee.
In the Packers’ 16-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts last week, Josh Jacobs ran for 151 yards on 32 carries. And he’s ready to do it again.
“If we need it,” Jacobs said on Friday. “Like I said, I feel good. I took care of my body a lot this week, so I think I’ll be all right for it.”
Only once at Nissan Stadium has an opposing player registered at least 32 rushing attempts in a game. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell gained 204 yards on 33 carries in a 27-24 victory over the Titans on Nov. 17, 2014.
During the NFL’s AFC/NFC era, there have been 21 instances of a player with at least 32 rushing attempts in back-to-back games and one instance of three in a row — Cleveland’s Jerome Harrison in final three games of the 2009 regular season. In the previous 10 seasons a player has had at least 32 rushing attempts in back-to-back games once — Bell in 2017.
“However many it’d take to win, get a win, I’m good with it,” Jacobs said of his carry count for Sunday.
Green Bay gained 261 yards on 53 rushing attempts against Indianapolis. The Packers hadn’t run that many times in a non-overtime game since Sept. 3, 1978, when Green Bay had 181 yards on 55 carries in a 13-7 victory over the Detroit Lions. Only once in the previous five seasons had a team had at least 53 rushing attempts, with the Ravens running 54 times for 404 yards in a 38-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 3, 2021.
Two games into the season, the Titans defense has yielded the fewest yards in the NFL despite the team’s 0-2 record, and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said this week, “At the end of the day, since I’ve been here in Tennessee – and I’ve been preaching it since I’ve been here since that’s kind of what got brought to my attention – no one’s run the ball on this Tennessee Titans defense, so I think our mindset is and one of our defensive goals this week is to stop the run.”
Jacobs said Sunday would tell the tale.
“I mean, me personally, I heard the comment,” Jacobs said. “A lot of people sent it to me, and I don’t really feel no type of way about it. I feel like if I was on defense I’d be saying the same thing. And running the ball or offensively, I feel like can’t no defense stop it, so I would’ve said the same thing.
“But I mean, obviously, they got a good defensive front. The back guys’ve played a lot of football. They’re a physical team, so we going to see.”
Green Bay went to a run-heavy offense with Malik Willis making his first start at quarterback for the Packers. Green Bay acquired him in a trade with the Titans after the preseason, so when QB1 Jordan Love went down with six seconds left in the season-opening game, the Packers had a new starting signal-caller with only a couple of handfuls of practices in their system.
RELATED: MALIK WILLIS TAKING NO ANGER TO TENNESSEE
“I actually talked to Malik when he was in college,” Jacobs said about Willis, who was at Auburn during Jacobs’ last two seasons at Alabama. “We had conversed a little bit, so when he had got here, obviously, I just showed him love. But the only thing I was just telling him was like, ‘Man, you made it here doing what you do and just be confident in what you do. We know you only been here a couple of weeks. We know that you got all the cards against you. Just go out there and play.’ And that’s what I basically told him: Just go out there and play.”
Love practiced on a limited basis this week, but Green Bay plans to take its decision on Sunday’s starting quarterback down to the last minute. However, on Saturday, the Packers elevated quarterback Sean Clifford from the practice squad to have him available as a backup if Willis starts again.
The Packers and Titans meet at noon CDT Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The kickoff temperature is expected to be 90 degrees.
“I have been preparing for that all week, starting really yesterday,” Jacobs said on Friday. “Just making sure my body’s going to be ready for it. My family’s going to be there, so I feel more sorry for them sitting in it. But it’s going to be fun.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
