Packers Call Out $48 Million Star After ‘Critical’ Mistake in Steelers Loss
The Green Bay Packers missed several opportunities in a last-minute effort to win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10, but one of the “critical” mistakes by star running back Aaron Jones was blocked by coach Matt LaFleur.
After quarterback Jordan Love connected with rookie Jayden Reed for a 46-yard touchdown reception, Love tagged Jones in the right flat on first-and-10 from the 35-yard line with 51 seconds to play . Jones caught the ball, but instead of going out of bounds to stop the clock, he tried to scramble for extra yards.
“I thought we had a chance to go out when we checked the ball to Aaron Jones but it didn’t happen. And that was important because we lost a lot of time,” LaFleur told reporters after the Nov. 23-19 loss to the Steelers.
The Packers rushed the next play with 28 seconds left on the Steelers clock when Jones fumbled the ball and Love went out of bounds, but the whole situation left them with little chance to win.
“We had a few more opportunities later in the game,” LaFleur said. “It took about 20 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. He wanted to put us in a position where one of the receivers was on the sideline.
“It took a long time, but the general operation was not enough,” he said.
Aaron Jones lost against the Steelers.
Overall, Jones held his own against the Steelers after a fumble in the final. He gained just 35 yards on 13 carries, which equates to 2.6 yards per carry, his lowest mark in a single game of the season.
He again caught four passes for 19 yards, but also had two catches on third down.
Mistakes happen, but Jones is the Packers’ best offensive player.
He is expected to play if he gets around 20 total touches per game.
He had 97 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in a Week 9 win against the Los Angeles Rams, but even then had one loss against the Packers.
To be fair, Jones has been limited in practice due to a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three games in the first half of the 2023 season, but the Packers will need more confidence if they want to stay in Green Bay.
June 2024.
On the plus side, the Packers had a strong performance against AJ Dillon in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
He had nine carries for 70 yards and broke his season high of 40 yards rushing.
He also averaged 4 yards per carry in back-to-back games for the first time this season, which is an encouraging sign for him.
But the Packers want to see stability at running back in 2023, and decisions on Dillon and Jones are expected to come in 2024.
The Packers could make major changes to their backfield makeup for the 2024 season. Dillon will become an unrestricted free agent when his rookie contract expires in March, but he hasn’t looked like the former running back who combined for 2,092 yards and 14 touchdowns in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
If he doesn’t perform well through 2023, it may be difficult for Dillon to make the case for an extension.
The Packers will also see increased billing for Jones, who signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension through the 2021 season. Jones took a pay cut in 2023, lowering his cap hit to about $8.19 million, but is expected to increase his cap hit to about $17.17 million for the 2024 season.
Even though the Packers want to -keep it, he might not find a way to drop his cap.
