Josh Jacobs wasn't going to miss this game. The Green Bay Packers needed him to beat the Arizona Cardinals, and even though he was a game-time decision, he felt he had it in him to help his teammates.

Jacobs was dealing with an illness that was plaguing him all the way back to Green Bay's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The All-Pro running back had "lost his lunch" on the field before and after the game, but he still went out and put up 150 total yard and two touchdowns.

Not only was Jacobs not feeling 100-percent heading into Arizona, but he popped up on the injury report later on in the week with a calf injury. Intel coming out of State Farm Stadium suggested that it wasn't the sickness the Packers were worried about, but rather, the calf injury.

Jacobs worked out before the game and he clearly felt he could go, but he revealed after the 27-23 win that the Packers didn't necessarily want him to play. 

"This organization, they do a really good job of protecting the players," Jacobs explained, according to Wes Hodkiewicz of the team website. "At the end of the day, I feel like you also gotta know who you're talking to. I'm one of those guys, man, if I feel like I can (play) and I'm not gonna hurt the team by trying to play, I'm gonna play then."

Though the Packers didn't want him out there before the game, they had to have been thrilled that Jacobs played when all is said and done.

He was absolutely on a snap count and the yardage numbers don't pop. Jacobs rushed 13 times for 55 yards. That is an average of 4.2 yards per rush, though, which will move the chains. The other thing to note is that a few of those runs were in the red zone, where Jacobs is absolutely lethal for the Packers.

He took a first-and-goal from the Arizona seven with 9:47 to go in the third quarter and punched that in. Then, after Jordan Love and tight end Tucker Kraft connected on a critical fourth-down conversion with 2:32 to go in the game and the Pack down three points, Jacobs capitalized on that moment by running in a one-yard touchdown a few plays later that ended up being the game-winner.

Without Jacobs, there are few scenarios in which the Packers would have won that game. Heck, without Jacobs, the Packers wouldn't be considered one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. He's played in 23 games as a Packer since signing a four-year, $48 million contract before last season and he's now tallied 23 touchdowns.

He's a vital piece of the puzzle for the Packers from a football standpoint, but his mental toughness and desire to go out there and play can also help this young team off the field as well.

You've got to have toughness and grit to win a Super Bowl. It's a long grind and there will be adversity, but you've got to be able to fight through it as a team.

Having a star like Jacobs with the mindset that he has is absolutely invaluable for the Packers. Now, they just need to keep feeding him the football.