Fresh and Healthy, Packers RB Aaron Jones Owns Cowboys
Before Sunday’s playoff game at the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones got to talk to one of his football idols, legendary Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith.
Jones proceeded to have one of those vintage Smith games. Jones carried 21 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers crushed the Cowboys 48-32.
If Aaron Rodgers owned Chicago, Jones owns Dallas. In four career games against the Cowboys, he’s rushed for 488 yards and nine touchdowns.
“This was my dad’s team,” Jones said. “This was my team growing up. You always want to be like your father, so that’s how it became my team. Emmitt Smith was my favorite running back. My first jersey was a 22. I got the chance to speak to him before the game, so that was special to me, as well.
“And then my dad did get to see me play here my rookie year. I know he was in there tonight. It was just a special place. Dallas is a special place to me, so it’s a full-circle moment. It feels like home.”
As spectacular as quarterback Jordan Love has been down the stretch, it’s been the return of Jones that has fueled Green Bay’s four-game winning streak.
Through the first 14 games, the Packers didn’t have a single 100-yard rushing game. With Jones missing six of the first 13 games and getting only part-time duty in a few others, he entered the Week 14 game against the Buccaneers with 298 rushing yards.
Fully healthy and off his playing-time limitations for a must-win game at Carolina in Week 15, Jones carried 21 times for 127 yards. In a must-win game at Minnesota in Week 16, Jones carried 20 times for 120 yards. In a must-win game against Chicago in Week 17, Jones carried 22 times for 111 yards.
Through the last three regular-season games, Jones led the NFL with 358 rushing yards to help power the Packers into the playoffs.
Packers RB Aaron Jones vs. the Cowboys
He was even better against the Cowboys. Jones scored touchdowns of 3 and 1 yards during the first 16 minutes. After rushing 12 times for 30 yards in the first half, he ripped off one big gain after another with nine carries for 88 yards and a 9-yard touchdown in the second half.
“His ability to put his foot in the ground, be explosive, make people miss,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I can’t say enough great things about the guy, the football player, what he means to our team, the leadership he brings. He’s a rare guy. There’s not many like him, and how he encourages his teammates, how he uplifts his teammates.”
Drafted by the Packers in 2017, Jones entered his hot streak with eight career games of 20-plus carries. He’s hit that mark in each of the last four games.
The Packers struggled without him while battling shoulder and knee injuries. The upside is he’s fresh as he’s ever been running into January.
“I think sometimes it was a blessing in disguise, I would say, that he didn’t have the wear and tear throughout the course of the season,” LaFleur said. “He’s not the biggest guy but, pound for pound, I don’t know that there’s many tougher than him. So, I think being here now, missing all those games, he’s got more tread on the tire.”
Dating to at least 1970, according to Stathead, Jones, Ahman Green and John Brockington had the only three-game streaks of 110-plus rushing yards for the Packers in regular-season play. Now, Jones and Ahman Green have the only four-game streaks with playoffs included.
If AJ Dillon is the unofficial mayor of Door County, Jones is the unofficial mayor of Dallas. With Dillon missing the last two games due to a neck injury, it is impossible to believe the Packers would be playing again next weekend without the 29-year-old Jones who has found the Fountain of Youth.
“We’re playing all together as one,” Jones said in passing along the praise. “The blocking unit, they’re doing their thing up front and they’re making it easy for me to pick and choose which hole I want to run through.
“If I’m cutting it back, I have two ways to go – which can slow me down sometimes, because I’m like ‘Aaaargh! Pick the right one!’ You know? I think it’s just a credit to them and then play-calling, as well, and just getting back healthy and running with something to prove.”
That point has been driven home with a sledgehammer.
