The Green Bay Packers looked like they might need to finish their Week 11 matchup with the New York Giants without starting quarterback Jordan Love leading the offense. But he came to lead a grinding win.
Love exited late in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Giants with a shoulder injury after taking a shot from linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles on a 4-yard scramble. He spent a brief amount of time in the blue medical tent on the sideline before jogging off into the locker room while his team continued the drive.
Minutes after Love’s departure, the Packers issued an update on his injury status, officially ruling him questionable to return to Week 11’s game against the Giants.
Love had completed just one of his four passes for a loss of one yard before exiting the game with his injury as the Packers offense continued to struggle with drops and other issues that have plagued them in recent weeks. He also had two carries for seven yards.
Seven plays after his injury, though, backup quarterback Malik Willis threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Watson to pull within a point of the Giants.
Ultimately, Jordan Love returned to the game for the Packers and led the team to a tight, 27-20 win in tough conditions, to move their record to 6-3-1.
The Packers also sustained another concerning injury in Sunday’s first half against the Giants as starting running back Josh Jacobs followed Love’s exit in the second quarter.
On the same drive that Love sustained his injury, Jacobs was stood up for no gain on the Giants’ 1-yard line one play before Willis’ touchdown pass to Watson. He did not return for the Packers’ subsequent drive as backup Emanuel Wilson took his place.
Shortly thereafter, the Packers officially announced that Jacobs has a knee injury and is questionable to return for the remainder of the game against the Giants.
Jacobs had taken seven carries for 40 yards before exiting with his injury. Since his exit, Wilson has carried the ball four times for 18 yards and the Packers’ second touchdown of the game, one that gave them a 13-7 lead over the Giants with 7:39 left in the half.
The Minnesota Vikings played exceedingly poorly against the Chicago Bears in Week 11, but still found a way to take a late lead in the contest, only to watch it slip away via a field goal as time expired.
That loss dropped Minnesota to 4-6 and placed the team firmly in last place in the NFC North Division. The Vikings now head to Lambeau Field for a divisional showdown with the Green Bay Packers in what is essentially a must-win if they hope to keep their playoff chances viable in a conference race that is running further and further ahead of them with each passing week.
A key for Minnesota is going to be the play of second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy. But assuming he continues struggling as he has for most of his five starts in 2025, the responsibility to keep the Vikings in the game is going to fall on Brian Flores and his defense. Looking at the contest through that lens, Minnesota caught something of a significant break via the injury report on Monday, November 17.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs left his team’s game against the New York Giants on Sunday with a knee injury. And while he isn’t going to need surgery, there’s a reasonable chance Jacobs will miss the contest against Minnesota next weekend.
#Packers standout RB Josh Jacobs’ knee is structurally sound and no surgery is needed, per me and @TomPelissero.
He’s considered day-to-day, but could miss the game against the #Vikings.
“Packers standout RB Josh Jacobs’ knee is structurally sound and no surgery is needed, per me and Tom Pelissero,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported via social media on Monday. “He’s considered day-to-day, but could miss the game against the Vikings.”
Green Bay’s offense has also struggled this season, particularly of late. The Packers have mustered fewer than 16 points per game on average over their last three contests, two of which were losses to Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles. Green Bay snuck past the New York Giants in Week 11 to move to 6-3-1 on the season.
The Packers are a below-average rushing team in the NFL this year, ranking 19th in the category with 113.5 ground yards per game. Losing Jacobs only exacerbates that deficiency.
He has tallied 648 rushing yards and 11 TDs, though not efficiently at just 3.8 yards per carry thus far in 2025. Jacobs has also caught 28 passes for 237 receiving yards.
Minnesota is allowing 127 rushing yards to opposing offenses in 2025, which is well below the league average. Thus, if Jacobs misses the contest, that should bode well for the Vikings mitigating one of their defensive weaknesses.
Green Bay is also without tight end Tucker Kraft, who is done for the season with an ACL tear. The combination of his absence, along with the potential absence of Jacobs, puts the Packers at an extreme skill-position disadvantage compared to how the offense looked when the season began.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed is also going to miss the game against the Vikings, though he could return as early as Week 13.
Minnesota is averaging just 21 points per contest since McCarthy returned to the starting lineup three weeks ago, and the offense has failed to eclipse 20 points in each of its past two consecutive losses. The Vikings will need their quarterback to play better if they hope to travel to Lambeau and win in mid-November, but Minnesota must also take advantage of the several key injuries to the Packers’ offense if the team wants to keep its postseason hopes viable following Week 12.