By Eric Goska
 |
| Jayden Reed as a rookie. (photo by Eric Goska) |
If its yards from scrimmage you’re after, Jayden Reed is your man.
Reed amassed 171 yards on five offensive plays in Green Bay’s
34-29 loss to the Eagles at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. Never has a
Packers end accumulated so many yards from scrimmage in a season
opener.
Four of Reed’s gains went for more than 25 yards. All but
his initial 9-yard reception in the first quarter brought first downs.
Reed scored twice on back-to-back possessions in the second
quarter. He put Green Bay ahead 12-7 after shrugging off linebacker Zack Baun’s
attempted tackle as part of a 33-yard run. Five minutes later, he again gave
the Packers the lead (19-14) when he eluded safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to
score on a 70-yard reception.
That’s 103 yards on two touchdowns. Only 14 other Packers
have put up 100 yards from scrimmage in a regular-season game on touchdown
yardage alone.
Reed might have gotten more. A 38-yard Love-to-Reed scoring
pass early in the first quarter was called back as both Green Bay and
Philadelphia had 12 men on the field.
Whether taking a handoff or snagging a pass, Reed can score.
As a rookie last season, he led the Green and Gold with 10 touchdowns, eight
through the air and two on the ground.
Friday night was the first time he counted on a run and a
pass in the same game.
In coming out of the gate so quickly, Reed joined 14 other Green
Bay ends who produced more than 100 yards from scrimmage in a season opener. This
exclusive group counts Don Hutson, Bill Howton, James Lofton, Sterling Sharpe
and Davante Adams among its members.
A year ago, Reed came away with 46 yards in the season
opener in Chicago. He caught two balls for 48 yards and lost two yards on a
rushing attempt.
Reed improved as fall turned to winter. He wound up leading
the team with 912 yards from scrimmage, 23 more than the 889 gained by runner-up
Aaron Jones.
Reed became the first rookie to lead the team in that
category since Eddie Lacy in 2013 and the first rookie end to do so since
Sterling Sharpe in 1988.
Years ago, running backs tended to prevail when manufacturing
yards in the initial game of the season. In 38 of the 52 seasons from 1923
through 1974, a ball carrier paced the team in yards from scrimmage on opening
day.
That has since evened out. In 27 of the last 51 seasons, a
receiver has taken that honor.
So, how do Reed’s 171 yards stack up when running backs are allowed into the room? His haul ranks third behind Ahman Green’s 197 in 2002 and Green’s 177 in 2001.
Green was the master of coming ready to play on Day 1. He paced the team in scrimmage yards in the opener a team record seven consecutive times (2000-2006).
Reed has shown he’s raring to go as well. With another 1,383 yards (86.44 per game), he can snap Adams’ 2021 team record for most scrimmage yards by an end in a season (1,553).
The six Packers ends who gained the most yards from scrimmage in a season-opener.
171 33-138 Jayden Reed 2024 Eagles GB lost, 29-34
166 12-154 James Lofton 1983 Oilers GB won 41-38
163 (-2)-165 Bill Howton 1957 Bears GB won, 21-17
156 0-156 Davante Adams 2020 Vikings GB won, 43-34
147 0-147 Don Hutson 1942 Bears GB lost, 28-44
142 0-142 Randall Cobb 2018 Bears GB won, 24-23
From Brian wolf ...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate that Love got hurt towards the end of the game. With an MCL sprain, could be out 2-4 weeks and could have been much worse. Do they sign a veteran like Ryan Tannehill or trade for a backup like Lance in Dallas or Dobbs in SF?
Dobbs at least knows the offense.
The backup, Willis, has his work cut out.
Nice job ... love the historical nuggets that only you have ...
ReplyDeleteDobbs knowledge of the offense is actually a detriment. His game is improv and athleticism. Great coming off the bench against an unprepared defense. As soon as Kevin O’Connell asked Kim to run more of the offense he turned into a turnover machine. Which is why he’s third string in SF, not 2nd. Shanahan knows this.
ReplyDeleteBW ...
DeleteIn fairness to Dobbs, he didn't have alot of time to learn the offense in Minn and still went 2-2 before the team released him. Mullens ran the system offense and stunk up the joint. With his experience he would still be a better option than Willis but I see your point.
BW ...
ReplyDeleteWillis did a good job. It had to be sweet beating the Titans in Nashville. Love will probably play in a big matchup with Minnesota, but with the ground game looking good, why not let Willis start and see if the team can stay hot? Love can come off the bench if needed.