GREEN BAY – After Sunday's regular-season finale against Chicago at Lambeau Field, another set of statistics will be in the books permanently.
Which and whose milestones and rankings could hinge on how the game against the Bears plays out? Here's a brief rundown.
Josh Jacobs: In order to rest up for the playoffs, the Packers' workhorse running back and Pro Bowler may not play much Sunday, which he enters with 1,285 rushing yards. He's currently fifth in the league overall, and while he's nowhere close to Saquon Barkley (2,005) and Derrick Henry (1,783) at the top of the list, he's just a yard behind Atlanta's Bijan Robinson for fourth and 14 yards behind the Rams' Kyren Williams for third.
So, if he could outgain Robinson by two yards and Williams by 15 in this final week, he could climb as high as third in the league for the season.
A few caveats, though, go along with what could be very limited work for Josh Jacobs on Sunday. The Falcons are fighting for a division crown, needing a win and a Buccaneers loss to take the NFC South, so Robinson is likely to be featured in Atlanta's game against Carolina. The Rams are resting some key players, so Williams might not play much.
Also, Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs is just 12 yards behind Jacobs (1,273) and the Lions are playing for the NFC's No. 1 seed without David Montgomery, so Gibbs will get the ball plenty. In addition, Indy's Jonathan Taylor is just 31 yards back of Jacobs, though the Colts have been eliminated from postseason contention.
As far as the Packers' record book goes, Jacobs' 1,285 rushing yards is the sixth-highest single-season total in team history, and he needs just 23 yards to take the fifth spot from Jim Taylor (1,307 in 1961).
Jacobs also has a rushing TD in seven straight games, tying Paul Hornung's franchise record set in 1960. With another one, the longest streak would be his and give him 15 rushing TDs on the year, tied for the third most in a single season in team history.
Tucker Kraft: With 46 receptions in 2024, the Packers' second-year tight end has 77 through his first two seasons. Since the league merger in 1970, only Richard Rodgers has more receptions by a Packers tight end in his first two years with 78, so Tucker Kraft needs just two catches to set that mark.
Also, Kraft has posted 75-plus receiving yards in three different games this season, tied for the most in a single year by a Green Bay tight end since the merger. His last game with 75-plus yards came on Thanksgiving night vs. Miami, and he's got one more shot to get his fourth.
Wide receivers: It will take a monster game from Jayden Reed, who needs 191 yards to reach 1,000, for the Packers to have a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2021 (Davante Adams).
But it's worth pointing out the Packers have a quartet of pass catchers – Reed, Kraft, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs – with 25-plus catches, 600-plus yards and multiple TDs each. That's just the fourth time in team history that's happened and the first since 2012.
That 2012 group was Randall Cobb, Jermichael Finley, James Jones and Jordy Nelson. It was also achieved in 2011 with Finley, Jones, Nelson and Greg Jennings. The only other time was back in 1983, with Paul Coffman, Gerry Ellis, John Jefferson and James Lofton.
If Watson were to catch one more pass, it would give everyone in this year's quartet at least 30 receptions, but Watson just returned to practice Friday after missing a last week due to a knee injury, and he's questionable for Sunday.
Xavier McKinney: The Pro Bowl safety's seven interceptions were tied for the league lead until Detroit's Kerby Joseph snagged two picks this past Monday night to take over the top spot with nine.
The INTs have been hard to come by for Xavier McKinney since his hot start to the season, when he had one in each of the first five games. Opposing QBs stopped challenging him deep, as he has just two since then, and his last one was in Week 12 vs. San Francisco.
Still, McKinney's seven are the most in a single season by a Packers defender since Charles Woodson also had seven in 2011. If he could get one more, eight would mark the most by a Packers defender since Woodson in '09, when the Hall of Famer won NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Team sacks: The Packers have eight players this season with at least three sacks, tied for the most in team history since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. The other years were 2015, 1985 and 1984.
The eight this year are Rashan Gary (6½), Devonte Wyatt (5), Kingsley Enagbare (4½), Brenton Cox Jr. (4), Karl Brooks (3½), Edgerrin Cooper (3½), Keisean Nixon (3) and Lukas Van Ness (3).
But they've never had nine players with at least three sacks, and linebacker Quay Walker enters the regular-season finale with 2½, while fellow linebacker Eric Wilson has two.
Walker remains out with an ankle injury, but Wilson is likely to get his shot at a third to become the ninth player.
Daniel Whelan: The second-year punter has posted a 46.2-yard gross average and 42.2-yard net average on 53 punts this season, with 22 inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
The 46.2 gross average equals Daniel Whelan's from last year, which ranks second in team history for a full season, behind Corey Bojorquez's 46.5 average in 2021.
Whether or not Whelan can match Bojorquez could depend on how many times he punts Sunday. If he punts twice, he'll need to average 55 yards on those two punts for his season average to climb to 46.5. With three punts, a 52-yard average would do the trick. No easy task in 20-degree temps, but not out of the question.
His net average of 42.2 already is the highest in team history (since keeping the statistic in 1976), ahead of Justin Vogel's 41.6 mark in 2017. Whelan's net last year was 39.7, fifth on the list. If this year's net doesn't decline, or if he doesn't punt Sunday, he'll take over the top spot.
Also, Whelan's 22 punts inside the 20 equals his total from last season, which ranks third in team annals for any season since 2000, behind Jon Ryan's 24 in 2006 and Vogel's 23 in 2017.
