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Rob Demovsky, ESPN workforce editor
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jordan Love was hurt again and Malik Willis did the impossible again.
Thanks in part to Willis, who went 2-0 as a backup starter, and then Love’s Age 1’s knee, the Green Bay Packers pulled out a last-second 30-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The year the Packers left EverBank Stadium 6-2 and learned that their backup quarterback, who wasn’t even with the team until the start of the familiar season, engineered a pressure to win the game, their quarterback original field limped away. a bruise to the groin that left his status insecure after Sunday’s NFC North matchup against the Lions (6-1).
Love, who suffered a groin shock under the early pressure of the game, completed the first half and then, taking the first snap of the third quarter, limped to the bench and did not return.
The Packers never ruled him out, but he spent the remainder of the game on the sidelines. Love, who threw his ninth line-drive interception of the second season and then the first sign of the groin crash, did not speak to reporters about the game.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he had “no idea” how serious the shock was for Love, who missed Weeks 2 and 3 and then sprained the MCL in his left knee late in the game. season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Love is expected to undergo testing Monday in Green Bay.
“Obviously, there is a high level of concern whenever a boy [not] “LaFleur mentioned. “And he did it early on that first trip and I think you, I think you all could see him struggling to move. And there came a point where we didn’t feel like it and he didn’t feel like he could protect himself.
“So, I went to Malik and you won’t say a lot of surprising things about Malik Willis, the work he can do to progress there.”
The highlight play for Willis was a deep pass to Jayden Reed for a 51-yard completion to set up a game-winning 24-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, who in two weeks with the Packers has kicked two last second goals. winners.
While Willis threw just five times with four completions for a total of 56 yards (including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft) and had a 20-yard run to set up a Josh Jacobs touchdown in the third quarter, his The offense’s dominance on the play toward Reed was what everyone praised after the game.
“We made a play earlier that kind of countered it a little bit and we just watched the hole,” Reed said. “So, we executed it. I already knew he was going to show me before the games were called. Just amazing calls through Schoolteacher and amazing execution through us.”
The Packers used the same offensive alignment on the first two plays of the final drive. On the first, Reed stayed to block from the right slot and Willis handed it off to Jacobs (25 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns) for a 6-yard gain.
Just before the snap on the second play, Willis made a pre-snap adjustment (what the Packers call a “can”) and it worked like a charm. This time, Reed delayed his release, perhaps to make the defense think he would stay to block again, and then changed his crossing route upfield.
“Not only was it a ‘can I play’ game, but it was a game we didn’t have in the matchup plan,” LaFleur said. “We mentioned it on Tuesday. We thought there might be something there, we decided not to do it and then we had the goalkeeper go through the player and [passing game coordinator Jason] Vrable ordered him. He says, ‘Hey, it looks like the games are there.’
“So we left him on the bench. So, there are no reps in practice. I think it’s a big credit to our guys, to be able to go out and execute it. Jayden Reed, Tucker, the O-line, the backs, everyone is selling. And finally Malik made the pitch, so it was a really good one that I’ll probably never forget.”
Not only was it a game in which the Packers never ran in the final stretch, but Willis never took a single snap with the starters in practice, either.
“The starter needs all the reps,” Willis said. “You get your replays in the browser [team]you get your reps [individual drills]and you just do what you can to use those mental reps and do everything you can to be ready if you need to.”
Willis’ three extended appearances have come against AFC South teams. He received a start against the Titans, the team that traded him to Green Bay on August 26 for a seventh-round pick, a start against the Colts and now a detour appearance against the Jaguars.
“It’s been pretty impressive,” LaFleur said. “Awesome is the word.”
