Josh Jacobs had played in only one playoff game in his NFL career before signing with the Green Bay Packers last offseason.
Now, he’s played in two. He still hasn’t won one, a fact that’s driving him into his seventh professional season.
“I would say a lot,” Jacobs said during organized team activities. “Obviously, every year is a new team. We’ve got new goals and things like that, but I feel like I left a lot on the table, you know? I feel like I had a good year but I feel like I still left a lot on the table. So, for me, it’s just trying to come in and chase that No. 1 spot and raise a Super Bowl [trophy] at the end of the day. That’s the only thing that’s really on my mind.”
Jacobs had nothing but success with the Raiders. A first-round pick in 2019, Jacobs’ five seasons resulted in three 1,000-yard campaigns and an NFL rushing title in 2022, when he was first-team All-Pro. What he didn’t enjoy was team success. Jacobs played in 90 games but won just 43. His only playoff season came in 2021, but the Raiders were one-and-done with a 26-19 loss at Cincinnati.
Team success was a big reason why Jacobs chose the Packers in free agency last offseason. In his debut season, Green Bay went 11-6 and Jacobs was chosen for the Pro Bowl. It was another one-and-one playoff, though, with Green Bay losing 22-10 at Philadelphia. Jacobs did his part, with almost every inch of his 81 rushing yards coming after contact.
“Just to see the Eagles go win a Super Bowl and, in my opinion, we played them the best out of any team last year and we was banged up a lot at the end,” Jacobs said. “For me, seeing how close we are is just about figuring out what we need to do to take that next step to get over the hump. And, like I said, it all comes down to putting in the work, putting in the time. We added some pieces to our offense and defense and, hopefully, we can all marry together and see how it goes.”
Shortly after the season, general manager Brian Gutekunst talked about the need for the team to ramp up its sense of “urgency,” saying it was “time we started competing for championships.”
The NFL’s youngest team each of the last two seasons, the Packers are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. In 2023, the Packers pushed the team that ultimately won the NFC, the 49ers, to the limit in the divisional round. The 2024 team, however, failed to take the next step. While Green Bay went from 9-8 to 11-6, it never really looked like a championship contender before it was knocked out by the team that ultimately won the Super Bowl, the Eagles.
As one of the team leaders, Jacobs said he “definitely” felt the urgency this offseason.
“There’s nothing worse,” Jacobs said, “than being on a team where you’re rebuilding and you have a feeling like, ‘OK, I want to be the best but the best might not be good enough. At this point, we don’t have enough pieces, enough guys.’ But with this type of locker room, where we’ve got pieces all over the board, offense and defense.
“It just makes that urgency get a little bit more intense, because the only thing that can really stop us is us. If we lock in on the things we need to do, if we put the work in, then we’ll reap the benefits.”
A player’s career is finite – especially at Jacobs’ position. At the ripe old age of 27, Jacobs should have at least a few more seasons of high-level football in him. But at his position, who knows? There are only so many runs left in his legs and so many runs at a Super Bowl left in his career.
“You feel the urgency, for sure,” he said. “You feel a lot of the younger guys growing up; you can definitely feel them coming into their own. You feel the urgency just from the way the guys are going about practicing and the details and the way they’re on top of everything. Jordan (Love) talks a lot more in the meeting. He asks guys questions, and guys’ answers and how detailed their answers are about what they’re doing lets me know like, everybody’s locked in.
“Like, it’s time. It’s time. You know? For me, I’m getting, there’s only so much left, so it’s definitely time, for sure.”
