GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers’ 2024 season changed significantly on March 11.
On that day earlier this year, general manager Brian Gutekunst signed safety Xavier McKinney to a four-year, $67 million contract and running back Josh Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million deal.
McKinney, 25, and Jacobs, 26, were no slouches for the Giants and Raiders, respectively, but for both signings to pan out like this?
“They’re propelling our franchise,” said defensive tackle Kenny Clark, the longest-tenured player on the team.
McKinney is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions, adding one more to his ledger in a 38-10 win over the 49ers on Sunday at Lambeau Field that propelled the Packers to 8-3. Jacobs ranks third in the NFL with 944 rushing yards and ran in three touchdowns on Sunday, which tied his single-game career high. The only defensive snaps McKinney has missed this season came late against the 49ers in garbage time and Jacobs has played in every game, too.
Xavier McKinney returns an interception 48 yards against 49ers on Sunday. (Tork Mason / Imagn Images)
McKinney and Jacobs were teammates in 2017 and 2018 at Alabama, so they know what winning feels like. They might have forgotten after starting their careers with struggling franchises — both made the playoffs just once with their first teams — but both players are reaping the rewards of their own brilliance while squarely in the Super Bowl mix for the first time.
“Those are two guys who’ve been pivotal playmakers,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Just talking about Josh on the offensive end, to get a running back like that who’s just so explosive and also the leadership aspect that he brings to this team is huge. And then Xavier McKinney on the back end, the plays he makes, the turnovers he generates, those are two very impactful players for us. They’ve been doing some really good things, so I’m very, very fortunate that we got them.”
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The news of cornerback and back-to-back first-team All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon re-signing with the Packers broke the day after McKinney and Jacobs agreed to terms. Nixon said Sunday that he was included in a four-person group chat at the time — him, McKinney, Jacobs and head coach Matt LaFleur.
“As soon as they signed, they put us in a group chat and we was talking,” Nixon said. “Josh actually called me before he even signed where he was going. He was like, ‘Man, I wanna play with you’ and I told him that ‘it’s gonna be a big deal when you get here.’ It’s (not) gonna be like what we came from. We both came from the same organization. But it’s just something — it feel a little different when you put that ‘G’ on.”
McKinney didn’t make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team with the Giants, but he’s primed for both and a first-team All-Pro nod this season. Not only has he intercepted seven passes, tied with Lions safety Kerby Joseph for the league lead, but he’s also changed how offenses attack the Packers. They’ve been hesitant at times this season to even try Green Bay deep because of how proficient McKinney has been in erasing big plays from his centerfield position.
The Packers held a 17-7 halftime lead Sunday and the 49ers received the second-half kickoff. On the opening drive of the second half, San Francisco went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Packers’ 39-yard line and McKinney broke up a pass for running back Christian McCaffrey in the flat. On the 49ers’ next drive, with the score still 17-7, McKinney picked off quarterback Brandon Allen on third-and-8 from the Packers’ 45-yard line and returned it 48 yards the other way to San Francisco’s 26.
X gets INT No. 7!#SFvsGB pic.twitter.com/5j2XKwEZ83
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 24, 2024
“They were dropping a lot of passes, so I kinda played for the tip,” McKinney said. “I saw what was in front of me, but I kinda figured that that one probably was gonna get straight through the hands because it seemed like … a thing pretty much the whole game, so I just played for the tip and luckily it bounced right to me and I was in the right spot and I was able to make the play.
“That’s what I came here to do. That’s why I was brought in, to be able to make big-time plays when we really need it.”
In a perfect illustration of how valuable both former Alabama standouts have been for the Packers, how did Green Bay’s offense respond to McKinney setting them up on the edge of the red zone? With a Jacobs rushing touchdown, his second of three 1-yard scores.
Jacobs didn’t just account for 18 points from the doorstep. According to Next Gen Stats, he forced 15 missed tackles, the most for any ball carrier in a single game this season. His 67 missed tackles forced this season were tied for the second most in the NFL entering Sunday Night Football.
“His ability to make people miss, I mean, I’ve never seen that before,” right tackle Zach Tom said.
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“I brought him to the ground last year when he was with the Raiders,” Clark said. “I know exactly how it is and it’s not easy. When we got him, I said, ‘Damn. We’ve got a real running back right now.’ … We’re going to need him, especially at the end of November and December, running the ball when it starts getting cold. Being able to hand a running back the ball 30 times a game is just huge.”
The 49ers had trouble stopping him — Jacobs finished with 26 carries for 106 yards and those three touchdowns — and so did his vicious cramps.
Before his second touchdown run late in the third quarter, Jacobs told the offensive line on first-and-goal from the 1 that they only had one chance for him to score because he needed to go into the locker room since his leg was “literally locked up.” Jacobs scored that touchdown, got an IV and returned to the game, surpassing 100 yards on the day while saying postgame he’d find a way to run 26 more times when the Packers host the Dolphins on Thursday night if needed.
“That’s one guy that I don’t worry about is Josh Jacobs,” LaFleur said. “That guy is an animal.”
Another one for Josh Jacobs! ✌️#SFvsGB pic.twitter.com/Ndz3KJFaX0
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 24, 2024
McKinney and Jacobs didn’t need to transform the Packers’ culture into a winning one because that already existed. If anything, they have enhanced it by adding two of the most talented skill sets in the NFL at their respective positions.
Their impact and fit are evident when hearing how people inside 1265 Lombardi Ave. talk about them.
“I’d do anything for him,” tight end Tucker Kraft said of Jacobs.
“He’s not a huge rah-rah guy, but you hear there’s meaning behind his words,” Rhyan said of Green Bay’s new feature back. “He might not say too much but they carry a lot of weight. Watching the way he works, comes out every day f—ing working.”
“Seven picks now?” Nixon said of McKinney. “I think that was a big-ass free-agent signing, but it’s kudos to him and his preparation.”
“The ball finds him and that’s not a surprise or by chance at all,” rookie Evan Williams said of his fellow starting safety. “It’s just him putting himself in those situations and being in the right spot at the right time so if anything happens where it’s not a catch, he’s going to be in the right place to make a play.”
“They’ve obviously produced on the field, but I think just some of the stuff that you guys don’t get the opportunity to see, how they lead behind the scenes, has been pretty impressive,” LaFleur said. “I think it’s not only about all the talk, it’s about the action and those guys back up what they say.”
Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was very familiar with Jacobs from his time with the Raiders. Defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley was familiar with both from his time at Alabama and he was McKinney’s primary recruiter out of high school. LaFleur heard plenty of rave reviews about both.
“But until you get a guy in the building and get to interact with him on a daily basis, you don’t really know, but it’s been as advertised,” LaFleur said. “Those guys have been just instrumental in our ability to win games.”
If the Packers are hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans, March 11, 2024, will be a big reason why.
“We was real happy to be back on the same team,” McKinney said. “I know what he’s made of. We’re cut from the same cloth, so it’s fun to be able to be with a guy that I know personally. We’re good friends … it’s like family. Just to be back on the same team with him and see him dominate and see him doing what he’s doing now, it’s great to see.”
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(Top photo of Josh Jacobs: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
