The Green Bay Packers took an unconventional route to their fourth straight victory, using a stellar performance by Josh Jacobs and behind schedule heroics from backup quarterback Malik Willis to overcome the loss of Jordan Love and defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at EverBank Stadium.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers going forward:
Which went well
—Response after Jordan Love’s exit. The Packers were losing 17-13 on the road and their quarterback was injured. Instead of folding, the Packers went to work. Josh Jacobs held four plays for a 16-yard gain, Malik Willis hit Dontayvion Wicks on third down, Willis had a 20-yard gain and Jacobs had a 38-yard touchdown. On the third play of the next drive, Edgerrin Cooper stripped Trevor Lawrence and Devonte Wyatt recovered easily. A few plays later, Tucker Kraft caught a three-yard touchdown to make it 27-17. An elite response to adversity.
— The winning play included one explosive play and that was all the Packers needed. Perfect decision at the perfect time to win the match.
— The Packers rushed for 170 yards and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes of the game. Jacobs finished with 127 yards rushing and an average of 5.1 yards per carry. The Packers had four runs of 10 or more yards.
— Xavier McKinney made his sixth interception in eight games. The takeaway came after Jordan Love intercepted the ball and scored a Packers touchdown. Green Bay scored 14 points with two takeaways.
— Romeo Doubs had two catches for more than 20 yards, Tucker Kraft had a 67-yard catch and Jayden Reed had a 51-yard catch. Explosive plays were once again the fuel for the offense.
— Brandon McManus made all three field goals – all under 40 yards – and all three extra points. In his first two games for the Packers, he was 10-for-10 on kicks and 2-for-2 on game-winners.
— The Packers defense forced three triples and had interceptions in the first four series. The Jaguars finished 1 of 9 on third down.
— Despite several penalties early in the game, the Packers finished with just three penalties for 20 yards.
What went wrong
— Jordan Love intercepted the ball in the red zone and the Packers started scoring 1-for-4 touchdowns inside the 20-yard line. Issues in the red zone helped the Jaguars stay in the game early on as the Packers dominated.
— The Packers defense struggled, especially against running back Tank Bigsby.
— After going up 27-17, the Packers gave up two long drives, including an 87-yard touchdown that ended the game. The defense also gave up some quick action behind schedule in the first half. The 27 points allowed are the third most the Packers have conceded this season.
— The Jaguars averaged 7.0 yards per play, including 9.1 yards per pass attempt. Six different Jaguars catchers had receptions of 20 or more yards.
— The Packers were 3-for-11 on third down.
— The defense produced just one sack (although it was a strip sack) and only three hits on another quarterback. The pressure was sporadic.
What does it mean
The Packers finished in the AFC South, improved to 6-2 and next week entered the gigantic fight for first place in the NFC North. Of course, everyone in Green Bay will be holding their breath while Jordan Love’s health is assessed, but preliminary information indicates that Love has avoided a solemn injury. Once again, the Packers had a winning performance from their backup quarterback. Once again, the Packers won without the A’s play. At some point, probably as soon as next week, the Packers will have to give it everything they have to win a gigantic game. It feels like this year’s team has already won 2-3 games that the 2023 Packers would absolutely lose, including Sunday. Given everything that has happened at the quarterback position with injuries, being 6-2 in Week 9 should seem like a very good place to be.
Overview of the most vital events
What’s next?
A visit of the NFC North leader Detroit Lions, who improved to 6-1 on Sunday after a loss to the Tennessee Titans. Dan Campbell’s team has legitimate reasons to be the NFL’s best team through eight weeks. This may be the biggest game of the Packers’ season so far, but injury question marks are expected to cast doubt on this mammoth NFC North battle.
