JACKSONVILLE – The Packers walked it off with a field goal Sunday for the second straight week, this time at EverBank Stadium in a 30-27 triumph over the Jaguars.
Here are five takeaways from the dramatic win that got the Packers to 6-2.
- Malik Willis did it again.
Only on this occasion, the Packers' backup QB didn't have a whole week to prepare. He replaced Jordan Love early in the third quarter due to a groin injury Love had been trying to fight through since the game's first possession.
After cashing in on a Jaguars turnover just 5 yards from paydirt for a 27-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Packers were in good shape. Only to have Jacksonville score 10 straight points (despite its top two receivers, Brian Thomas Jr. and Christian Kirk, leaving with injuries) and tie the game on QB Trevor Lawrence's 14-yard TD pass to tight end Evan Engram with 1:48 left.
From there, it was up to Willis, and on the second play of the ensuing drive, he ran a play-action bootleg and found receiver Jayden Reed wide open down the sideline for 51 yards. The Packers were suddenly in position to win.
"I can't say enough great things about Malik Willis," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "The moment's never too big for him."
The play was what the Packers call a "can," or audible when the QB gets to the line of scrimmage and can switch to a secondary play call built into the first.
"We were looking for a certain look," Willis said, explaining the previous play call was the same, but the Jaguars weren't in the coverage the Packers wanted. "We ran it again, got the look we were looking for, and I canned right to it. It was perfect."
From there, the Packers ran the clock down to two seconds, and new kicker Brandon McManus hit the game-winner from 24 yards out.
"To be able to win on a walk-off two weeks in a row is kinda crazy," LaFleur said. "I don't want it to continue to happen that way. I'd like to win outright, because it's taken years off our lives. But just really happy for our guys."
- The severity of Love's injury isn't known.
LaFleur said he had "no idea" on the prognosis for Love's groin injury, which initially occurred on the Packers' first possession. He was walking around gingerly from there on, though he was still able to direct three scoring drives in the first half worth 13 points.
He threw one interception, which teammates Xavier McKinney erased on the Jaguars' next drive with his sixth pick of the year. Love wound up 14-of-22 for 196 yards, including a 67-yard catch-and-run by tight end Tucker Kraft.
"Everybody could see him struggling to move around," LaFleur said of Love. "It got to a point where we, and he, didn't feel like he could protect himself."
After the Packers' third play of the second half, Love hobbled over to the sideline and then just went down to be attended to. Willis took over from there and went 4-of-5 for 56 yards.
- The defense had almost a Jekyll & Hyde type of day.
The game started with the Jaguars not getting a first down over their first four possessions – including McKinney's INT. Then Jacksonville put together a rash of explosive plays to score 10 points in the final six minutes of the first half.
Then, after allowing a long third-quarter TD drive, the defense made its biggest play of the game. Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper punched the ball out from behind Lawrence on a sack, and teammate Devonte Wyatt recovered on the doorstep.
Kraft's short TD catch put the Packers in control, up by 10.
"You could argue that was the difference in the game," LaFleur said. "Twice the defense set us up with great field position.
"We knew they were going to get their shots in. It was just about staying resilient."
- Running back Josh Jacobs was a workhorse … until the very end.
Jacobs pounded his way to 127 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, including a highlight-reel 38-yard scoring run on which he dodged multiple tacklers before breaking away into the open field.
"It looked nifty to me, too," Willis said when asked about Jacobs' footwork on the play. "It was awesome. Love seeing him go out there to do his thing."
Added LaFleur: "He's a stud, isn't he? The physicality he runs with. He's a pro's pro. He demands it of himself but demands it of others as well."
On the final drive, though, right after Reed's 51-yard gain, Jacobs ran for 3 yards to the Jacksonville 12 and came up limping just a bit. That led to Chris Brooks going in, and he promptly ran 8 yards up the middle.
The Jaguars were going to let Brooks score, but the Packers were in what they call a "Rolex" situation, where the priority above all else is to keep the clock running.
So Brooks smartly slid to the ground with a first down inside the 5, forcing the Jaguars to use their last timeout with 54 seconds left. The Packers were then able to burn the rest of the time.
"He's a selfless guy," LaFleur said of Brooks, who was just signed a few weeks ago and has quickly worked himself into a regular role in the backfield. He gave up his chance to score his first NFL TD by sliding.
"He does what we ask him to do. He did a good job of executing and not scoring. He'll get his time. Chris Brooks has been a huge asset to our team."
- The Packers' health for next week's NFC North showdown with the first-place Lions is a huge question.
Love's status is very much up in the air with 6-1 Detroit coming to Lambeau Field next Sunday. Same for Jacobs, though LaFleur said he wanted to go back in the game at the end and they played it safe.
Also, cornerback Jaire Alexander appeared to not be walking carefully as he left the field following Engram's game-tying TD catch late in the game, and rookie safety Evan Williams left in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return.
"Obviously really proud of our guys," LaFleur said. "It wasn't our cleanest game I would say, but the ability to find a way to get it done, that's what it's all about."
