Aaron Jones, playing for his father who died of COVID-19 complications, has huge night in Packers win

During the Monday night broadcast, ESPN's Lisa Salters said Aaron Jones dedicated this season to his father, Alvin.

Alvin Jones died due to complications from COVID-19 in April.

Monday night had to be pretty special for Aaron Jones, in a few ways.

Jones had a great night when the Green Bay Packers needed it most. With the Detroit Lions playing two safeties deep most of the game to take away Aaron Rodgers' passing game to Davante Adams, the Packers decided that they'd run with Jones until the Lions stopped him. They never did. Jones scored four touchdowns, three on catches from Rodgers, as the Packers got a much-needed 35-17 win on Monday night.

Jones said his father was on his mind.

"I think he'd be very proud of me, tell me to continue to work and this is only the beginning," Jones told Salters after the game.

Jones said he was wearing a chain that had a football containing his father's ashes, and he lost it in the end zone after one of his touchdowns. He said the grounds crew was looking for it.

"I'll go look for it," Jones said on ESPN after the game. "But I know he's happy. He'd be happy, and say, 'If you lose it anywhere, lose it in the end zone.'"

Aaron Jones leads Packers win

The Packers were awful in Week 1 and not much better to start Week 2. The Lions got a couple early Jared Goff touchdowns, including a brilliant pass-and-catch to T.J. Hockenson in the back corner of the end zone, to take a 14-7 lead. Detroit led 17-14 at halftime.

The Lions copied what the New Orleans Saints did in Week 1 and played their safeties in a deep zone. That has been one way to slow down Rodgers, and it worked great in Week 1. That forced the Packers to be patient. They pounded Jones in the run game, and he kept the chains moving. Then he made a few big plays in the red zone to get the Packers on the board. The Packers paid Jones $48 million over four years for games like Monday. Jones had 67 yards rushing and 48 more receiving. Eventually things opened up for Rodgers, who had a 145.6 passer rating, and the offense got going. But Jones was the one who kept the offense going as Green Bay stayed in the game.

There will be games in which the Packers throw it a ton, and Rodgers and Adams combine for a ton of yards. Monday was a game made for Jones, and he came through.

Packers struggle early and then cruise

The Lions fell apart after keeping the Monday night TV audience interested into the second half. The defense couldn't get the stops it needed. Jared Goff fumbled a snap, and the Packers turned the short field afterward into a touchdown. That made the score 35-17 and removed all doubt about the outcome.

The Packers needed to bounce back, and for a while that was in doubt. The defense has a lot to work on. The passing game will still have to figure things out if opponents are going to keep playing two-deep zone.

But they needed to figure those things out without being 0-2 to start the season. Jones helped make sure the Packers didn't find themselves in that early hole.