Josh Jacobs explains controversial touchdown celebration vs. Panthers that seemed to mimic arrest

Jacobs says the celebration was a reference to a gospel song titled "Break Every Chain"

Oct 30, 2026 at 9:48 am ET • 2 min read

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was recently reinstated from the commissioner's exempt list after serving a six-game stint on the list. He was there in the wake of disturbing domestic violence allegations stemming from an offseason incident, but has been back on the field for the last two games.

On Thursday night, Jacobs scored a short rushing touchdown against the Carolina Panthers and, during his celebration, appeared to put his hands behind his back as though he were being arrested and handcuffed. At least, that's how many observers saw it. 

He was asked about it following the game, and Jacobs said the celebration was not a reference to his being arrested, but instead to a gospel song titled "Break Every Chain."

"They didn't even get the whole celebration," Jacobs said, referring to the Amazon Prime broadcast. "It was one second that they just saw me. Anyways, me and (wide receiver Savion Williams), we came up with the celebration, if they would've seen the whole celebration. 

"Basically, last week, we said the first celebration, when I score, I was gonna thank God. That's what I did last week. Second one was gonna be 'Break Every Chain.' It's a gospel song. That was gonna be the next celebration. It's just a correlation. But like I said, the media's gonna run with it. They're gonna make it something that it wasn't. But it is what it is."

A longer video of the celebration shows Williams running over to Jacobs and seemingly unlocking the chains on Jacobs' wrists, after which Jacobs breaks free.

Jacobs' explanation seems reasonable, if you see the full video and know the context and content of the gospel song in question. But it's also reasonable that people would assume, based on what they saw on Prime, that the gesture was a reference to his arrest. (It wouldn't be the first time a player has celebrated a touchdown that way, after all.) The confusion is understandable, and probably not entirely a media creation.

Jacobs was charged with two misdemeanors, battery and damage to property, from an arrest in May after police responded to his home following a domestic violence incident. He later pleaded no contest to the charges in September, resolving the court case. He also filed an action seeking to prevent the public release of evidence related to the case, including alleged video of the incident.