NASHVILLE – Packers QB Malik Willis came back to Tennessee and beat the team that traded him to Green Bay for a seventh-round pick.
The Packers left Nissan Stadium with a 30-14 victory Sunday to improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Willis, a third-round draft pick by the Titans in 2022 who had been relegated to Tennessee's No. 3 QB before being traded, vastly outplayed Titans QB Will Levis, who turned the ball over four more times, giving him nine turnovers through three games for the 0-3 Titans.
Willis, starting his second straight game in place of the injured Jordan Love (knee), completed 13-of-19 passes for 202 yards with a TD and 120.9 passer rating. He also rushed six times for 73 yardsm and a TD, all in the first half.
Complementing Willis' efforts were RBs Josh Jacobs (14 carries, 43 yards) and Emanuel Wilson (12-50). WR Christian Watson caught two passes for 67 yards, WR Jayden Reed had four for 50, and Wilson had two catches for 35 yards, including a 30-yard TD on screen pass.
That passing TD gave the Packers a 27-7 lead in the third quarter after the defense had stopped the Titans on fourth down in Tennessee territory. The Titans cut it to 27-14 shortly thereafter but moved no closer.
Green Bay's defense also got three takeaways for the third straight game. CB Jaire Alexander scored on a pick-six in the first half, DL Kingsley Enagbare got a strip-sack in the second half, and S Xavier McKinney picked off a deep ball late in the fourth quarter for his third interception in as many games. He's the first Packers player to have interceptions in each of his first three games for Green Bay since linebacker John Anderson in 1978.
The strip-sack was one of eight sacks by the Packers, with DL Devonte Wyatt and DL Preston Smith each getting two. Enagbare had 1½ sacks.
Levis was 26-of-34 for 260 yards with two TDs, two INTs and an 92.8 rating. The Packers held the Titans to just 33 rushing yards, with RB Tony Pollard gaining 14 on six attempts. WR DeAndre Hopkins caught six passes for 73 yards and a TD.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead Titans 17-7 after first quarter
The Titans won the opening coin toss and elected to defer. With Malik Willis starting his second game in place of Jordan Love, Green Bay faked a pitch on the first play and Willis connected with receiver Jayden Reed on a 30-yard completion off an underneath crossing route.
On third-and-7 from the Tennessee 37, Willis threw a 30-yard pass to Christian Watson down the right sideline to set up first-and-goal. Two plays later, Willis tucked the ball on a read-option and ran in for the 5-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 7-0 with 12 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Titans opened with a 23-yard pass off play-action to Josh Whyle and then converted a third-and-9 from the Green Bay 23 with a 20-yard pass down the seam to Tyler Boyd.
The Packers nearly had a stop on third-and-8 when Rashan Gary sacked Will Levis, but Preston Smith was flagged for a neutral-zone infraction. Levis connected with Whyle for seven yards on next play.
Tennessee tied the game at 7 with a 1-yard pass to Nick Vannett with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
Willis hit Reed for nine yards on second down and then scrambled for 20 on third-and-2 to move into Titans' territory. Tennessee sent six on third-and-7 and Willis climbed the pocket for an 8-yard scramble and first down.
Willis then gained 29 yards on a read-option to set up first-and-goal at the Titans' 2. After an incomplete pass on third-and-goal, Brayden Narveson made a 21-yard field goal to give Green Bay a 10-7 lead with 1:05 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the Titans' second drive, Jaire Alexander picked off Levis and returned it for a 35-yard touchdown to extend Green Bay's lead to 17-7 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter. Wilson contributed to 134 of the Packers' 137 total yards in the first quarter.
Packers lead Titans 20-7 at halftime
The second quarter began with the Packers' defense forced the Titans to punt when Levis was tackled after a 3-yard gain on a third-and-8 scramble. Green Bay took over at its 18-yard line after a 36-yard Ryan Stonehouse punt.
Willis found Tucker Kraft on a play-action rollout for 21 yards to start the Packers' third offensive possession. Emanuel Wilson picked up 17 yards on back-to-back carries, but the drive stalled when Willis was sacked by Kenneth Murray Jr. for a 10-yard loss.
Tennessee started at its own 20 after Daniel Whelan's 45-yard punt landed in the end zone for a touchback. The Packers' defense earned a three-and-out, with Lukas Van Ness sacking Levis for a 4-yard loss on third-and-3 to force the punt.
A holding penalty backed Green Bay up to its own 15, but Willis kept the drive going with an 18-yard pass across the middle to Romeo Doubs on third-and-14. Prior to the two-minute warning, Reed gained 15 yards on an end-around to move back into Tennessee territory.
A series of penalties pushed Green Bay back into third-and-18, but Willis converted again with a 37-yard pass to Watson on an outbreaking route. Willis scrambled for seven yards to the Titans' 6 to set up third-and-3. Green Bay used its second timeout with 27 seconds left in the half.
Narveson made a 26-yard field goal to go into halftime with a 20-7 lead.
Packers lead Titans 27-14 after three quarters
Packers defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt sacked Levis for a loss of five on first down. Tony Pollard took an underneath pass for 12 on third-and-13 and Tennessee initially sent out its punt team before calling a timeout.
On fourth-and-1 from their own 37, the Titans called a rollout for Levis who was sacked by Quay Walker to force the turnover on downs.
After a 6-yard pass to Reed, the Packers attempted a 48-yard field goal, but Narveson missed right on fourth-and-4. Tennessee was called for defensive holding, though, to give Green Bay a first down.
Wilson was stopped for a loss of six on first but took a screen for a 31-yard touchdown on the following play to extend Green Bay's lead to 27-7 with 8:25 left in the third quarter. It was also announced tight end Tucker Kraft has a shoulder injury and is questionable to return.
Tennessee answered back with a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins to cut Green Bay's lead to 27-13 with 4:55 left in the third.
The Packers ran the ball three times behind Jacobs and were forced to punt. The Titans moved back into Green Bay territory after two passes to Hopkins for 35 yards. Kingsley Enagbare got the Packers the ball back after a strip sack of Levis, which Van Ness recovered at the Green Bay 47.
Packers shut the door on Titans, 30-14
The Packers picked up the initial first down with two Wilson runs for 11 yards but were forced to punt from their own 43 with 12:52 remaining.
The Titans took over at their own 21 but punted after Preston Smith recorded his first sack of the year off a six-man rush on third-and-7. The Packers retook possession at their 32 with 9:53 remaining.
Green Bay again punted it back to Tennessee after going three-and-out after Willis and Kraft couldn't connect on a second-and-5 rollout. The defense force another three-and-out after Wyatt had a sack for a five-yard loss on second down – his first career two-sack game – and Edgerrin Cooper and Kingsley Enagbare combined for another on third-and-13.
Wilson and Jacobs got the ground game going, running the ball all the way to the Titans' 29. Narveson made a 47-yard field goal to extend the Packers' lead to 30-14 with 3:29 remaining.
The defense pushed its sack total to eight after Smith recorded his second of the day, this time for a 7-yard loss. On third-and-17, Xavier McKinney picked off Levis on a deep ball for his third INT in as many games.
