Aaron Jones wins NFL’s “Ground Player of the Week” for effort versus Bears

The Green Bay Packers announced on Wednesday that Packers running back Aaron Jones was named the league’s Ground Player of the Week after his performance against the Chicago Bears in the team’s Week 2 victory. Jones was able to take 15 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown on top of his three receptions for 38 yards and another score.

With that Week 2 effort, Jones’ season-long stats sit at 20 carries for 181 yards for an amazing 9.1 yards per carry average. 50 percent of his carries have gone for a first down this year, which towers above Atlanta’s Cordarrelle Patterson (32.5 percent) for first place among players with 20 or more carries. Third in the league is Jones’ “backup” AJ Dillon (32.1 percent) tied with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Much of Jones’ yardage came after contact, as every scouting/analytics service recorded Jones breaking double-digit tackles against the Bears. Acme Packing Company’s own Tyler Brooke wrote a breakdown on the Packers’ rushing success earlier this week.

Per the Packers’ press release, only three players have earned more “Ground Player of the Week” honors than Jones (four) since he entered the league: Tennessee’s Derrick Henry (15), Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook (six) and Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor (six.) He is now tied with Ahman Green for the most “Ground Player of the Week” honors as a Packers. This was the first time Jones has won the honor since Week 13 of the 2020 regular season.