Will a Green Bay Packers Player Ever Reach This Difficult Milestone?

The Green Bay Packers have a rich history—13 world championships, more than any other team in NFL history. But the team has never had a player accomplish one milestone that has been done 32 times in league history. That is to gain 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game. Despite having several outstanding and versatile running backs, the Packers have not had a player accomplish this feat. Will a Packers player ever reach this difficult milestone? Here is a look at how close some all-time great Packers came.

Will a Packers Player Ever Reach This Difficult Milestone: The 60s and 70s

The Packers featured a pair of Hall of Fame running backs in their backfield during the Vince Lombardi dynasty of the 1960s, but neither Paul Hornung nor Jim Taylor reached 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game.

Hornung had just one 100-yard receiving game in his career and it came in 1965 against the Baltimore Colts. He ran for three touchdowns and caught two in this contest. But while he caught two passes for 115 yards, he ran 15 times for 61 yards in the game. “The Golden Boy” also had three 100-yard rushing games but never totaled more than 28 receiving yards in those contests.

Taylor had 26 career games of 100 or more yards rushing but never topped 100 yards receiving in his career. He never gained more than 57 yards receiving in a game where he ran for 100 yards or more.

Versatile Donny Anderson had one 100-yard receiving game with the Packers but only gained 56-yards rushing in that game, despite running for three touchdowns and catching a touchdown pass in a 55-7 win over the Browns in 1967.

The running duo of John Brockington and MacArthur Lane helped the Packers win the NFC Central title in 1972. The Packers didn’t throw the ball much back then, so Brockington never gained 100 yards receiving in a game. He went over 100 yards on the ground 13 times. His highest receiving total in those games was 66 that he gained in a 1974 win over the Vikings in Minnesota.

Lane had two 100-yard rushing games with the Packers but never gained more than 23 receiving yards in either of them.

Terdell Middleton had five games with 100-or-more yards rushing but his highest receiving total was just 38 yards.

The 80s and 90s

The Packers featured the running back duo of Eddie Lee Ivery and Gerry Ellis in the early 80s. Both players were good runners and receivers. Ivery had five 100-yard rushing games but his highest receiving total in those contests was just 18 yards. He had one 100-yard receiving game, a 128 yards effort in a 14-14 overtime tie in Tampa Bay in 1980. In that game, he gained 74 rushing yards.

Ellis had a pair of 100-yard receiving games, but his best rushing game of the pair saw him gain just 41 yards.

Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton came as well. He had some big gains on reverses but never had enough rushing attempts to top 100 yards. Lofton had sprinter’s speed. In a 1982 Monday night game against the Giants, Lofton scored on an 83-yard reverse that helped turn the tide of the game. He also caught four passes for 101 yards in that game. In a 1982 playoff loss to Dallas, he scored on a 71-yard reverse while catching five passes for 109 yards and another touchdown.

Edgar Bennett gave the Packers a dual-threat running back who could run and catch passes. He had six 100-yard rushing games, but his highest receiving total was 50 on six catches in a 1994 loss to the Lions.

Dorsey Levens came the closest of any Packers back. In a 1997 41-38 loss to the Colts, he gained 103 yards rushing on 14 carries while catching four passes for 92 yards. He ran for two touchdowns and caught one in this game.

Will a Packers Player Ever Reach this Difficult Milestone: The 21^st Century

Ahman Green remains the Packers all-time leading rusher, and he was a good receiver as well. But Green never had more than 78 yards receiving with the Packers. He had 33 100-yard rushing games with the Packers, but his highest receiving total in those contests was 52 yards.

Ryan Grant gained more than 100 yards rushing 12 times with the Packers, but his highest receiving total was just 31 yards.

Eddie Lacy wasn’t known as a great receiver, but he did have one career 100-yard receiving game. Unfortunately, he gained only 59 yards rushing in that 2014 loss to the Saints. Lacy went over 100 yards rushing in a game 11 times but never gained more than 48 yards receiving in those games.

Aaron Jones gave the Packers a dual threat as a rusher and receiver. He had only one 100-yard receiving game with the Packers, a 159-yard effort against the Chiefs in 2019. He gained 67 yards rushing on 13 carries in that game. He had 20 100-yard rushing games in Green and Gold, but this highest receiving total was 75 yards in his four-touchdown effort against the Cowboys in 2019.

The Packers never utilized Josh Jacobs a lot as a receiver. He has three 100-yard rushing games as a Packer but never gained more than 10 receiving yards in those games.

The Packers have had a lot of talented running backs, but no one has yet to reach this special milestone. Who will be the first?