The Green Bay Packers are about to begin the home stretch of their season. As they prepare for their Week 12 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers are hoping that running back Josh Jacobs can return to the lineup and take his spot in the backfield.

Jacobs injured his knee in last week’s 27-20 victory over the New York Giants, and had to come out early in the game. As a result of taking a blow to his knee, that area swelled up and he was unable to return. Jacobs is no longer in pain as a result of the injury, but the knee is still swollen. He will return to the lineup as soon as the swelling goes down and he has full range of motion.

Jacobs does not believe it will take that long for that top happen, and he could be in the lineup this Sunday at Lambeau Field. As the Packers (6-3-1) prepare for that game, they are in second place in the NFC North, one-half game behind the Chicago Bears. The Packers and the Bears have yet to play this season and the ancient rivals will meet in Week 14 in Green Bay and Week 16 in Chicago.

Packers offense needs to be balanced

Jordan Love headlines the Packers offense and that unit appears to be quite a bit stronger than the offense theVikings will bring to Lambeau Field this week. The Vikings have been struggling to play consistent offense with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy under center. McCarthy has had issues with his accuracy and poise in the pocket this season. He has thrown for just 842 yards with 6 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

The Vikings have a pair of the game’s best receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but McCarthy’s lack of accuracy has limited their production.

Love has been much more productive for the Packers, completing 210 of 310 passes for 2,421 yards with a 15-3 TD-interception ratio. The return of Jacobs would make the Packers offense that much more dangerous.