Packers need more from their ground game. MarShawn Lloyd's highlight-worthy TD offers some hope

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay’s MarShawn Lloyd made his first career touchdown run one to remember.

The Packers hope it can spark their struggling ground attack.

Lloyd bulled his way past Chicago cornerback Jaylon Johnson and knocked him to the ground while completing a 7-yard score for the first of his two touchdowns during the Packers’ 31-7 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

“I've seen it a million times now," Lloyd said Wednesday. " Everywhere I go, everyone’s showing me - my family, everyone’s texting me and showing me the video. It’s been pretty cool, but now it’s kind of like on to the next. We have a big week this week. You do it once, but the good ones do it multiple times.”

Lloyd still must prove he has that kind of reliability after injuries essentially wiped out his first two NFL seasons. He gets his next chance Sunday night as the Packers host the Dallas Cowboys.

The 2024 third-round pick played a total of one game over his first two seasons. He’s been pressed into a featured role this year because three-time Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner’s exempt list.

His adjustment hasn’t been particularly smooth.

Green Bay (3-2) has won its last two games, but is averaging an NFL-low 60.4 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry – ahead of only Las Vegas. Lloyd has a team-high 112 yards rushing while gaining only 2.8 yards per attempt.

The Packers have been looking for any sign of life from their running game. No wonder Lloyd’s physical touchdown run caught their attention.

“We watched that clip of his touchdown run so many times,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “That’s what it’s got to be. He knows what that is. You’ve got to run behind your pads. There’s always going to be an unblocked defender. You’ve either got to make him miss or run somebody over, and he did that.”

Lloyd also has 10 catches for 55 yards, and he scored his first overall touchdown on a 6-yard reception against the New York Jets on Sept. 20. Lloyd says he’s learning something new every week and cited a video he recently saw of Indianapolis Colts star Jonathan Taylor discussing some of his rushing philosophies.

“The best cut is no cut,” said Lloyd, who played college football at South Carolina (2020-22) and Southern California (2023). “That’s what he said. In college, it’s a little different. You can cut here or cut there. In the NFL, the best cut is no cut. If it’s there, just hit.”

The Packers need Lloyd to produce. They don’t have many other options as long as Jacobs remains unavailable. Jacobs went on the commissioner’s exempt list after pleading no contest in August to two misdemeanor charges stemming from a May 23 altercation with his then-girlfriend.

Green Bay acquired Kaleb Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers before the season, but he at least temporarily fell out of favor after fumbling on first-and-goal from the 3-yard line during the Packers’ 17-14 victory at Tampa Bay on Oct. 4. All seven of his carries against the Bears came after the Packers already had built a 31-7 lead.

Chris Brooks, who has 15 carries for 70 yards this season, went on injured reserve Saturday due to an ankle issue.

Lloyd played 27 offensive snaps Sunday while Pierre Strong Jr. played 25 in his first game since the Packers signed him off their practice squad. Lloyd gained 31 yards on 10 carries and caught a 6-yard pass. Strong had seven yards on five carries plus three catches for 11 yards.

The Packers need more juice from their rushing attack. Lloyd showed Sunday he’s probably the best bet to provide it, though he’s missing a souvenir from his biggest career highlight thus far.

“I wasn’t able to keep the ball,” Lloyd said. “I don’t know where it is. Maybe I can get it. I know I got my first touchdown ball. My first rushing touchdown, I would definitely like to get that ball, for sure.”

NOTES: LG Aaron Banks (knee/toe) returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, but CB Keisean Nixon (groin) didn’t practice. Other Packers who didn’t practice included DT Jonathan Ford (calf), WR/KR Skyy Moore (ankle) and CB Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring). … DT Jordon Riley, who tore his Achilles tendon last December, is practicing again on a limited basis. Riley’s return comes after the Packers lost DT Javon Hargrave to an Achilles injury Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Green Bay Packers' Marshawn Lloyd celebrates his touchdown run during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Marshawn Lloyd celebrates his touchdown run with fans during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Marshawn Lloyd runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers' Marshawn Lloyd celebrates his touchdown run with fans during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers' Marshawn Lloyd runs for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff faced off with angry members of the school’s faculty Wednesday at a meeting that underscored deep frustration on campus over his administration’s handling of a woman’s report that she was gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024.

Kotlikoff addressed members of the university's Faculty Senate, and took their questions, as it began considering a no-confidence resolution in his administration.

The meeting was closed to the media, but some faculty members leaving the session described the mood as leaning heavily against Kotlikoff, who has publicly acknowledged errors in the school's handling of the rape allegation.

Richard Bensel, a professor of government, said Kotlikoff was poised, and the debate was civil, but he estimated 80% of the faculty members who spoke at the meeting were in favor of a no-confidence vote.

“The faculty were extremely angry. They gave him a hard time, I think appropriately so,” Bensel said. He said the Faculty Senate had spent years passing resolutions calling for reforms to university disciplinary procedures, only to have its recommendations ignored by administrators.

“I don’t think there’s any way that we can open up the process for democratic reform except by passing this resolution,” he said.

Debate was expected to continue Oct. 28, followed by electronic voting by the Faculty Senate, which has approximately 130 voting members. A simple majority is required for passage.

A no-confidence vote by the faculty would be largely symbolic, but can send a powerful message to the university's trustees, who ultimately will decide how the university is run and who leads it.

Cornell's crisis began after a woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit alleging that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints.

The criminal investigation by Cornell's police department quickly stalled after the local district attorney decided, only weeks after the woman went to police in 2024, that no crime had been committed.

At the time, Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations, suspended the fraternity and said criminal and university investigations were underway. He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations.

But in an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, Kotlikoff said he never followed up to learn what had happened to the woman or whether any of the accused students had been punished.

He acknowledged that, until the woman filed her lawsuit, he did not know she had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident, or that some had remained enrolled at the school.

On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties through the end of the academic year and plans to give state police a role in investigating sexual assault reports.

The faculty senate meeting stretched past the two hours anticipated. Kotlikoff left the meeting after addressing faculty members and answering questions, and did not stay for the debate over the no-confidence resolution.

“The institution is split in significant ways,” said Grant Farred, professor of Africana Studies and English, describing those in the humanities as feeling they had enough information to proceed while those in the sciences wanted more data.

Iris Packman, a member of the faculty senate and senior research and policy development associate at Cornell’s ILR School Climate Jobs Institute, said the meeting had a “contentious tone” and that Kotlikoff got “defensive.”

Cornell Labor History Professor Paul Ortiz, lead sponsor of the no-confidence resolution, said that at one point during his remarks, Kotlikoff suggested that replacing the president would not be good for the university. The resolution doesn't expressly call for such a thing, Ortiz said.

“What was animating the resolution is this sense of a perpetual ongoing crisis,” said Ortiz.

Anne Marie Brady, a senior extension associate at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said she welcomed Kotlikoff’s recent announcement that state police would take on a role in sexual assault investigations, saying it showed the administration was listening to faculty concerns. But she questioned the timing, a day before the Senate debate.

For Ariana Kim, an associate music professor at Cornell and co-sponsor of the resolution, Kotlikoff’s acknowledgment that he had not followed up on the woman’s case was deeply troubling.

“I mean, that’s appalling in and of itself, right?” Kim said. “That you don’t know about a student who faced an alleged horrific crime, that you don’t think to check in.”

Kim, a Grammy-nominated violinist, said she was motivated to take action after being struck by Jane Doe’s story, as well as her own personal experiences on campus since she started at Cornell a decade ago as a young academic in her 20s. She said when she experienced bullying and sexual harassment by senior colleagues, Cornell failed to properly document her complaints and that she was never clearly informed what disciplinary action, if any, had been taken.

“I was asked what I had done to provoke the situation,” she said.

Kim said she continued to be expected to work alongside colleagues she said had harassed her. Her efforts to avoid them later became a point of criticism during her tenure review. In one instance, a senior professor cited her unwillingness to accept his advice and her avoidance of him in explaining his vote against granting her tenure.

Kim spent more than a year appealing the initial denial of tenure, a process during which she said she lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and struggled to eat or sleep. The original decision was ultimately overturned, and she secured tenure.

Now seeking promotion to full professor, Kim said she recognizes that publicly criticizing university leaders could again jeopardize her career.

“I’m speaking out publicly against this administration that may very well deny my promotion,” she said.

The controversy over Cornell’s handling of sexual assault allegations is the latest challenge for Kotlikoff, who became the university’s interim president in July 2024, months before Jane Doe’s alleged assault, and took the job permanently last year.

Dining and custodial workers went on strike shortly after he took office, and some faculty and students criticized his decision last year to pay $60 million to settle Trump administration civil rights investigations.

Earlier this year, he also faced accusations that he tried to back his car into demonstrators following a campus debate over Israel and Palestinian rights. Kotlikoff denied the allegations, saying he was the victim of harassment.

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Willingham reported from Boston.

Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the White House during a "Stop Sexual Violence" protest in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the White House during a "Stop Sexual Violence" protest in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)