GREEN BAY – It was one month ago today the Packers officially acquired Malik Willis in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.
The cost? A 2025 seventh-round draft choice.
It turned out to be a small price to pay in the aftermath of franchise quarterback Jordan Love sustaining a knee injury in the final 15 seconds of the team's season-opening loss in Brazil that's sidelined him the past two games.
Despite his late arrival, Willis has been nothing short of sensational in Love's stead. While it's taken a team effort to get Green Bay to 2-1, the 25-year-old quarterback has helped drive the league's fifth-ranked offense while contributing to a league-best 612 rushing yards through three games.
During Sunday's 30-14 win over the Titans, Willis became just the fifth player in Packers history to register back-to-back games with a passer rating of at least 120.
The others? Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Lynn Dickey and Love.
After the game, Head Coach Matt LaFleur stood at the podium in Nashville and proclaimed he's "never seen something like this" in regard to Willis' performance.
On Wednesday, Willis was asked how he's done what he's done in such a short time. The third-year quarterback humbly responded: "How did I do what?"
"Practice. Just come to practice," Willis said. "When the games come, just try to do what you did in practice, and just take it day by day. You don't really control all the factors that people pay attention to or that may affect your situation, but at the same time, you just get a team to focus on what you focus on."
Willis downplays the scale of his performance (122.7 passer rating, 114 rushing yards and three total touchdowns), but his strong showing against his old team puts him in elite company.
Willis is just the fourth NFL player to post 200-plus passing yards, a passing TD, no INTs and a 120-plus passer rating along with 70-plus rushing yards, a rushing TD and an average of 12-plus yards per carry.
The others are two-time MVP Lamar Jackson (vs. Miami on Sept. 18, 2022), Russell Wilson (at Arizona on Dec. 21, 2014) and Randall Cunningham (vs. New England on Nov. 4, 1990).
What's more, Willis is the only NFL QB since the 1970 merger to post a 120-plus passer rating and 40-plus rushing yards in both of his first two starts with a team.
"He came in a month ago, and to come out and do that the way he did, is amazing really," running back Emanuel Wilson said. "He's a down-to-earth guy. He's always smiling. If Malik got questions, he'll ask us and go from there."
Endless preparation has buoyed Willis' transition. Since coming to Green Bay, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound quarterback has stayed on Love's hip pocket. They sit next to each other in the meeting room, break down film together and review fundamentals.
Away from Lambeau Field, Willis has been relentless in absorbing the Packers' playbook and everything LaFleur and Co. are asking their quarterback to do on gameday.
"He did a great job preparing through the week of putting in a lot of extra time," Love said. "Just studying the plan and making sure he's dialed in on everything he's doing. He did a lot of work to get himself ready."
Asked what he's most proud of from his win on Sunday against his former team, Willis redirected any praise to his teammates, the defense and the offensive line's stout pass protection.
He also feels communication with Love, LaFleur, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and the rest of the coaching staff have set him up for success in the Packers' scheme.
Like Willis, LaFleur and his assistants will be the last to accept any credit. However, the Packers' coaching staff has developed creative, but practical gameplans Willis feels played to his strengths during spot starts against Indianapolis and Tennessee.
It's taken a lot of hours, too. Venerable quarterbacks coach Tom Clements and his assistants, Connor Lewis and Sean Mannion, have all put in extra time to ensure Willis is confident in what's being asked of him on gamedays.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has taken notice of what Green Bay is doing, offering effusive praise for LaFleur and his staff entering Sunday's NFC North matchup between the Packers and undefeated Vikings at Lambeau Field.
"I don't think it's being talked about enough what's going on over there with Malik Willis," said Flores earlier this week. "I think for Matt to go in his bag and be a West Coast guy and then turn around he's got this whole zone-read/RPO/counter-read, that's pretty impressive."
The Packers again are holding their quarterback cards close to the vest this week, with LaFleur saying that Love continues to make progress during his rehab and remains "limited" in practice.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Minnesota will devise plans for either Love or Willis. A challenge to be sure, asserts Flores, because it's "two different styles of offense."
Like he's done since he got here, Willis is locked in on the task at hand rather than basking in the glow of his first two NFL wins. Whether he starts against the Vikings or Love makes his highly anticipated return, a new challenge awaits on Sunday.
"It's two weeks. It's a long season, you know what I mean?" Willis said. "We're 2-1 right now. We've got a lot more games to play to see how this thing shakes out. I feel like that's what we have to be focused on, more than getting caught up in two games. I love that we won, but at the same time, we're on to the next week."
