It’s tough to imagine a part-time player having a bigger impact on a game than veteran linebacker Eric Wilson, who scored on eight saves for the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Wilson, who rotated with rookie Edgerrin Cooper as the Packers’ third defensive linebacker, forced a fumble, assisted on a third-down run stop and threw an interception on eight plays in the 16-10 win.
“He did a great job, especially after coming back and looking at it,” coach Matt LaFleur said.
The forced fumble — on Jonathan Taylor at the end of an explosive drive — didn’t result in a turnover. But Wilson’s last two huge plays were drive-enders and point-deniers.
In the first, Wilson expertly defended third-and-1 options. He played with Anthony Richardson, who was forced to throw the ball, then helped keep the running back from fumbling. The Colts missed a 50-yard field goal one play later. LaFleur said Wilson did an “amazing job” of stretching the drive and allowing his teammates to gather and stop the ball.
incredible play in Eric Wilson’s huge spot
has to force Richardson to jump because the quay is completely closed.
this is a legal 2 on 1 situation until McKinney gets on the scene photo: twitter.com/fUwXRzX04v
— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) September 16, 2024
On the next drive, Wilson intercepted Richardson as a hook defender. He got under the route behind him and threw an interception, ending the Colts’ drive in Packers territory. LaFleur said Wilson “squeezed” the route and made a “really good move” on Richardson’s throw.
Wilson goes and conquers!#INDvsGB photo:twitter.com/ipVcX0nRoE
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 15, 2024
In a game the Packers won by six points, Wilson helped complicate or prevent two scoring opportunities for the Colts in the second half.
Pro Football Focus assigns an overall grade to each player for each game. Wilson’s final defensive grade through eight plays was 99.4 on a 100.0 scale.
“He’s a guy who puts his heart and soul into his job, he’s a professional and he’s getting better every day,” LaFleur said. “He knows what to do. That’s a big part of him. Whenever we’ve had opportunities, he’s gone in there and done pretty well for us.”
Wilson, a veteran special teams player, also led the Packers in special plays, with 17 against the Colts.
