GREEN BAY – Since the 2024 season began, complementary football has been a popular buzzword around the Packers' locker room.
There may be no better example of that than Green Bay's offense being off to its best start on the ground in 61 years, racking up 1,003 rushing yards through its first six games.
Newcomer Josh Jacobs (108 carries for 462 yards and a touchdown) and second-year running back Emanuel Wilson (42-210) lead the way for the Packers' second-ranked rushing offense, which is averaging 167.2 yards per game this season.
Green Bay leads the NFL with 594 first-half rushing yards and is one of two teams with at least 500 (Washington is No. 2 with 530). The Packers have rushed for 160-plus yards four times, second behind only Baltimore (five), which is also the first time the Packers have rushed for 160-plus yards four times in the first six games since 1963.
"I think the guys have been doing a great job up front," running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. "We've been breaking tackles. It also helps the receiver plays that we have whether it's Bo (Melton) or (Jayden) Reed. Those guys are accumulating a lot of yards for us in the run game. It's a lot of people who are contributing to it and that's helping us."
To Sirmans' point, buoying the Packers' 4-2 start has been a multifaceted offense that's turned to a variety of playmakers to generate yards. That includes backup quarterback Malik Willis, who scrambled for 114 yards and a touchdown while leading back-to-back wins over Indianapolis and Tennessee.
Out of the receiver room, Jayden Reed (110 rushing yards and a TD on nine carries) and Bo Melton (35 yards on four carries) have provided an additional boost on end-arounds and pre-snap motions. Even tight end Tucker Kraft gained a couple yards on a third-and-1 direct snap during Sunday's 34-13 win over Arizona.
"When you got guys on the field who can run the ball or get the ball in their hands, you gotta prepare for it," Melton said. "I think they do a really good job here just getting different guys the ball at different moments – inside, outside, pass, everything."
Running wideouts and backs on motions and orbiting them into the backfield is nothing new in Head Coach Matt LaFleur's offense. It's been a staple since Green Bay first claimed Tyler Ervin on waivers late in the 2019 season.
Where Reed brings things to a different level is his ability to line up alongside the bruising Jacobs out of the shotgun, a formation that allows Green Bay to hand Reed the ball, motion him out or send him on routes from the backfield.
The 5-foot-11, 187-pound playmaker eclipsed 100 rushing yards with his 11-yard carry in Los Angeles two weeks ago. In doing so, Reed became only the sixth player in NFL history, and the first since 49ers running back Roger Craig in 1985, to post 400-plus receiving yards and 100-plus rushing yards in the first five games of a season.
Reed is tied for No. 2 in the NFL with 14 explosive plays this season. Only Houston receiver Nico Collins, currently on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, has more (17).
"It definitely keeps them on their toes. You never know what to expect really at that point," said Reed, who's also the Packers' leading receiver with 442 yards and three receiving TDs this year. "All the motions and the ways they get the ball in our hands, we just do a great job of making plays and keeping defenses on their toes."
In terms of the traditional backfield, Jacobs and Wilson have become a formidable one-two punch for a Green Bay offense that lost AJ Dillon (stinger) for the season during training camp and has been without rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd (ankle) since Week 2.
Jacobs is currently fifth in rushing yards, while Wilson has compiled 257 yards from scrimmage (210 rushing, 47 receiving) and a touchdown on 48 touches. The former undrafted free agent worked in concert with Melton and third-string running back Chris Brooks to run the final 5 minutes, 37 seconds off the clock in a game-ending 10-play drive against the Cardinals.
"From where he came from in college to making the jump to the pros and now, he's got himself to a better sweet spot," said Sirmans about Wilson's second-year jump. "He understands offenses better, understands what defenses are doing, and it's just really led to his confidence skyrocketing, which is one of the reasons why I think you've seen such a jump in how he's able to produce.
"He's a lot more confident and understanding the NFL game from a running back standpoint."
This Sunday, the Packers will be pitted against the Houston Texans and their third-ranked defense. To turn back the 5-1 Texans, Green Bay's fourth-ranked offense knows it'll take a four-quarter effort and as much creativity as possible both on the ground and through the air.
"It's complementary football," center Josh Myers said. "As much as the run game is helping the pass, I think the pass is helping the run. We have been able to do both pretty effectively so far, which helps a ton being balanced like that and keep defenses on their toes."
