Packers Drop the Bomb on Josh Jacobs’ Thanksgiving Status, Leaving Fans on the Edge of Their Seats.QQ
It was a busy day for the Packers on Wednesday, as the team tries to bounce quickly back from Sunday’s dominant defensive performance against the Vikings to take on the Lions, a must-win game if Green Bay wants to give itself a top-level chance to win the NFC North. The Packers come in at 7-3-1, and are 2-0 in the division, while the Lions are 7-4.
The Packers made one decision on the offensive side, opting to keep receiver Jayden Reed out for another week as he returns from collar-bone and foot injuries. When they put out their injury report on Wednesday, it was clear they’d made another, too: They were ready to get running back Josh Jacobs back on the field.
Jacobs was not on Wednesday’s injury report, which means he is good to go for the Lions.
Josh Jacobs In Need of Consistency
Jacobs had hurt his knee in Week 11 against the Giants. He wanted badly to play in Week 12, but the team held him back and Jacobs vowed he would return on Thanksgiving. He’s followed through on that.
Last year, Jacobs proved to be a shrewd addition by the Packers’ front office, as he went for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus another 342 yards as a receiver. This year, Jacobs is running behind a reconfigured and oft-injured offensive line, and the result have been rough at times. Jacobs has not had a 100-yard game this season and is on pace for a much more modest 1,037 yards on the year.
Jacobs definitely needs consistency and momentum to be effective. The Packers are hoping he gets more of that down the season’s stretch run.
As offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Jacobs, “It takes a little time in the run game to just get things going and the more opportunities you get the more momentum you can build. When you’re able to give Josh (Jacobs) the ball that many times, he’s going to start popping some and he’s going to wear people out.”
Packers Could Use Emanuel Wilson More With Josh Jacobs
With Jacobs out against the Vikings, RB2 Emanuel Wilson stepped up with 28 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers like to use Wilson as a change-of-pace back, but there is a case to be made for him to get more carries–he had just 53 coming into Week 12. Wilson for one said he’d like that chance.
“It’ll be crazy,” Wilson said of a one-two punch with Jacobs. “When Josh comes back, when he gets going I will try to match his energy. Today, I just tried to do that. … I just went out there and did my job. The guys believe in me so I tried to make every opportunity count for them.”
Bengals starter may have priced himself out of Cincinnati on Thanksgiving
The most welcome trend to arise from the Cincinnati Bengals’ 32-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving was how well the defense played for the second time in five days.
A quick turnaround on the heels of a demoralizing loss could’ve been enough to sink Cincinnati. After the Ravens answered a field goal on Joe Burrow’s first drive back with a touchdown march, it looked like the rout could be on at M&T Bank Stadium.
While Burrow deserves a ton of credit for coming back way sooner than anticipated, orchestrating two second-half TD drives, and reinstating a winning standard for Cincinnati, the defense needs its flowers, too.
In fact, one player I’ve been critical of ad nauseam has started to ball out, and I couldn’t be happier to be proven wrong.
‘Waiting for Godot’ Joseph Ossai has finally arrived for Bengals defense
I thought I was on point after the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers a few games ago when it felt like the notion of a resurgent Cincinnati defensive front was an illusion. Aaron Rodgers’ time to throw was super long, and any pass rush generated was a result of sticky coverage on the back end.
Then the last two games happened. And Thanksgiving in particular happened. And Joseph Ossai, who the Bengals paid $6.5 million to stick around this year, had the breakout performance Who Dey Nation has longed for since he was a third-round pick back in 2021.
This sack on Lamar Jackson was no fluke. It was Ossai being a human heat-seeking missile who actually finished a pass rush, knocked the ball out, and gifted Burrow’s offense a short field.
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 28, 2025
Ossai stormed the backfield later as a free rusher on an exotic blitz dialed up by defensive coordinator Al Golden. Lamar Jackson caved in the face of the pressure, and crumbled to the turf as Ossai pummeled him for another sack.
Even though the Bengals are engaged in a perpetual contract spat with Trey Hendrickson, I’m convinced they’ll either franchise tag him and ride it out, or just let him walk. They refuse to pay him, and Hendrickson has been injured lately anyway.
When it comes to Joseph Ossai, if he maintains his current form, he’ll command a decent-sized payday elsewhere. Now that 2023 first-rounder Myles Murphy is starting to come on in his own right, and Cincinnati also invested a Day 1 selection in rookie Shemar Stewart at defensive end, Ossai could be the odd man out. He’s now at five sacks on the season, tying his career high. The arrow is indubitably pointing up.
Based on Ossai’s longer tenure, inferior draft status, and how desperately de facto GM Duke Tobin needs a reversal in perception of his latest rookie classes, I feel like Ossai will price himself out of Cincinnati by season’s end.
All I could remember Ossai for was his 15-yard penalty on Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game that sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. That was the last time the Bengals graced the postseason.
Could we be seeing Ossai rewrite his legacy in real time? You just wonder where this was all season, but the same can be said for the entire Bengals defense that looks like they know how to play football again.
