Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy was doing his usual thing — running around and through chumps — at the start of Sunday’s win over Dallas.
Then he disappeared.
James Starks replaced Lacy, as he has at times this season, but for a longer stretch than we’ve grown accustomed to. There was good reason for that and it’s not because Lacy got injured. It’s because he had an asthma attack after the first series.
“You know your body is good enough to go out and play,” said Lacy. “But … you just can’t breathe. And it’s a breathing thing. It’s not something you want to go out and risk…risk something bad happening. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s a medical condition. I take my inhaler, I do everything I’m supposed to do. When it happens, it happens.”
So Lacy waited and eventually returned. He would finish the day with 101 yards on 19 carries, numbers that surely would have been more robust if not for the attack.
That’s Lacy’s second straight game with more than 100 yards against a top 10 rushing defense. The Cowboys finished the season ranked eighth and the Packers’ week 17 opponent, the Detroit Lions, finished first.
He’ll have another huge test in the NFC Championship game against Seattle, which was second in the NFL in rushing defense. Lacy managed only 34 yards on 12 carries when the teams met back in week 1.