Packers RB Aaron Jones reaches 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time

Third-year running back Aaron Jones has been a budding star for the Green Bay Packers over his brief career. Jones led the NFL in yards per carry last year with 5.5, but under Mike McCarthy the team never truly let him become a featured back.

That changed this year under Matt LaFleur, as Jones has had four games with at least 16 carries in 2019 compared to just four in his first two years combined. Now, Jones has hit an elusive milestone, crossing over the 1,000-yard mark on the ground for the first time in his pro career.

Jones passed that mark on the Packers third offensive series against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, doing so on a four-yard carry on the final play of the first quarter. That run gave him 1,003 yards at the time. and has made him the Packers’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2014, when Eddie Lacy ran for 1,139 yards.

Jones entered the day with 984 yards on the ground, putting him at the 24th-best rushing season by yardage in team history. He has a realistic shot of cracking the top 18 today, as a 100-yard day would push him over Edgar Bennett’s 1995 season (1,067 yards). He also has a shot of breaking the team’s single-season touchdown record of 20, held by Ahman Green from back in 2003. Jones entered the day with 19 touchdowns, one shy of tying that record.