Photo by Evan Siegle
Green Bay Packers
The Packers concluded the easy part of their schedule on Sunday with a 30-27 last second win over a poor Jacksonville Jaguars team with a walk-off 24-yard field goal from Brandon McManus. Green Bay now sits at 6-2 in second place in the NFC North behind their upcoming opponent, the Detroit Lions, and in good shape for a playoff push in the second half.
The Jacksonville game served as a microcosm of the first half of the season for the Packers, as Jordan Love threw yet another baffling interception in which he stared down receiver Romeo Doubs for the entire route. Love was also, once again, forced to miss time with a groin injury, severely limiting his mobility, and once again, backup Malik Willis bailed out the offense with his mobility and a dominant running attack, peppered with a few big passing plays.
Love finished his day at halftime having completed 14 of 22 passes for 196 yards and an interception, but the groin injury was clearly a limiting factor. His downfield throws lacked velocity, and several of them wobbled badly. If not for Xavier McKinney’s second quarter interception of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Green Bay’s lone touchdown of the first half would not have happened. The early diagnosis on Love’s groin is positive and there’s a chance he could play next week, but if he was this ineffective against a poor Jacksonville defense, he’s going to have a hard time against an elite Detroit unit.
Rally the Team
Fortunately, in the second half, Malik Willis was up to the task of rallying the team, leading two touchdown drives punctuated by a 38-yard run by Josh Jacobs (25 carries, 125 yards, 2 TDs), and a short, three yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft (3 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD). Willis also led the game’s final drive for a game-winning field goal, which included a beautiful 51-yard “leak” to Jayden Reed. The big play allowed the team to run out the remainder of the clock before Brandon McManus ended things. Willis has been the NFL’s best backup quarterback (along with Colts veteran Joe Flacco) and Matt LaFleur’s ability to flip the offense instantly to accentuate Willis’ strengths has been the story of the year in Green Bay, and the major reason they’ve managed six wins to this point.
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Whether Love plays next week or not, Green Bay has their bye after the Detroit game, and they are going to need it, as the quarterback wasn’t the only casualty this week. Outstanding rookie safety Evan Williams suffered a hamstring injury and will almost certainly miss some time, while corner Jaire Alexander also went down with a non-contact injury on the game’s final play.
Without Williams in the game, the Packers were forced to move Javon Bullard from nickel to safety and to bring Eric Stokes back into the lineup. Both players struggled as Trevor Lawrence repeatedly went after Stokes, while Bullard missed several key tackles in what was Green Bay’s worst tackling game of the year. According to Pro Football Focus, the unit missed at least fifteen tackles on Sunday, as they repeatedly attempted to strip Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby instead of bringing him down.
Continued Brilliance
Outside of the continued brilliance of Xavier McKinney, the only bright spot for the defense came from rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who had five tackles for loss, a strip sack of Trevor Lawrence, and one of the best coverage reps of the game, breaking up a deep ball intended for receiver Christian Kirk. Cooper has received an increased snap count every game and has slowly become one of their most dominant forces on defense. Between Cooper and Evan Williams, the rookie class has served to pick up the slack for some of the struggling veterans. After a nice effort against Houston, Rashan Gary was stymied by the Jacksonville line, and Kenny Clark is still being impacted by a toe injury.
As for next week, the Lions are, by all advanced metrics, the best team in the NFL, fresh off a 52-14 win over the Titans. They have scored at least 31 points in their last four games, including an excellent Vikings’ defense, and even if the Packers were fully healthy, this would be a difficult game. One thing to keep a close eye on is the weather in Green Bay. The early forecast for next Sunday shows no rain, but there is a storm rolling in the following Monday. If it looks like the rain may make an earlier appearance, don’t be surprised if they start Malik Willis, even if Love could technically go. A run-heavy attack in sloppy conditions might be their best option.