In just his second game back on the field with the Packers since being on the NFL’s commissioner exempt list, Josh Jacobs helped power his team to a 27-19 win on Thursday night.
Jacobs finished with just 39 rushing yards, but added six catches and a pair of touchdowns in Green Bay’s victory over Carolina. The running back’s celebration after one of those scores, however, became controversial.
Jacobs, who was arrested earlier this year and charged with misdemeanor battery and destruction of property, appeared to put his hands behind his back as a touchdown celebration, but provided another explanation for his actions postgame.
Here’s what Jacobs said about his touchdown celebration against the Panthers.
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Josh Jacobs explains TD celebration vs. Panthers
After Jacobs scored his first touchdown of the night in the second quarter, he put his hands behind his back, leading fans to question whether he was making light of his arrest earlier in 2026.
Did Josh Jacobs just hit a Handcuff Celebration? https://t.co/sntCp65nwg
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 30, 2026
In May, Jacobs was arrested in Wisconsin following an incident with a woman at his home. He was booked on five domestic battery-related charges, later charged with misdemeanor battery and destruction of property.
That incident led to Jacobs being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list to start the 2026 season, missing six games before he was allowed to re-join the Packers las week. He remains subject to a potential NFL suspension for the league’s personal conduct policy.
Fans criticized Jacobs for appearing to make light of his arrest, but the running back provided another explanation for his celebration against the Panthers, saying it was an ode to a gospel song called “Break Every Chain.” He said that the broadcast didn’t capture the full celebration.
“They didn’t even get the whole celebration,” Jacobs said.”It was f—ing one second that they just showed me.”
Jacobs also said that he and teammate Savion Williams came up with two celebrations for his return.
“Basically, last week, we said the first celebration, when I score, I was going to thank God — that’s what I did last week,” Jacobs said. “The second one was going to be ‘Break Every Chain.’ It’s a gospel song. That was going to be the next celebration. It’s just a correlation, but like I said, the media [is] going to run with it. They’re going to make it something that it wasn’t, but it is what it is.”
Josh Jacobs explained his celebration after his first TD tonight when he put his hands behind his back. He said it was an ode to the gospel song, “Break Every Chain.” He said the TV cameras didn’t get the whole thing. https://t.co/F65YnLMqwF
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) October 30, 2026
The running back added that other Packers teammates did the same celebration.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a thing that can be perceived a certain type of way,” Jacobs said, per ESPN. “But it’s 2026, and it is what it is.”
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