GREEN BAY, Wis. — The words written inside of running back Josh Jacobs’ gloves tell the story of Green Bay’s 16-10 win over the Colts on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
In yellow lettering on a white background on one glove is the word, “WHO.” On the other personalized Nike glove is the word, “CARES.”
Who cares if the Packers didn’t have their $220 million starting quarterback?
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Who cares if Jacobs had to run 32 times, the most for any Packer in 16 years?
Who cares if the guy largely tasked with ensuring the Packers didn’t fall to 0-2 had only been on the team 19 days?
“To me, that phrase and them two words mean a lot just because at the end of the day, don’t nobody really care,” Jacobs said. “You’ve got to put your head down and get results and that’s what this business is. Who cares that the odds are against you? That you don’t got your starting quarterback? Just make it happen.”
Josh Jacobs runs for a first down against the Colts on Sunday. (Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)
After what head coach Matt LaFleur described as a “shaky” practice on Wednesday from the Packers offensive line, he challenged his big boys up front and they made it happen.
Quarterback Jordan Love wouldn’t play in Sunday’s game due to a knee injury suffered in Week 1. His backup, Malik Willis, was a largely unproven thrower for whom the Packers traded a seventh-round pick to the Titans in late August. Green Bay wanted to run the ball down the Colts’ throats all day, even if everyone and their mother knew what was coming.
“I went in there and said, ‘Hey, we’re winning this game through you guys,’” LaFleur said. “And I thought they stepped up.”
The Packers ran for more yards in the first quarter (164) than any team in the NFL had in any quarter since the Broncos in 2011. They finished with 53 carries for 261 yards, good for 4.9 yards per rush. Jacobs toted the rock 32 times for 151 yards (4.7 yards per carry), while Willis only threw 14 times. Wide receiver Jayden Reed said that at the beginning of the week, LaFleur told them to have their blocking gloves on come Sunday. The Packers held the ball for 40 minutes and 11 seconds, while the Colts had it for 19 minutes and 49 seconds.
“I was literally just sitting back enjoying my Gatorade. Felt amazing,” cornerback Jaire Alexander said. “This might be the shortest film that we watch all season.”
Jaire Alexander on the Packers controlling the game on the ground:
“I was literally just sitting back enjoying my Gatorade. Felt amazing. This might be the shortest film that we watch all season.” pic.twitter.com/peh1Qzp453
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 15, 2024
And when Willis did drop back to throw, he wasn’t hit behind the line of scrimmage or sacked once. His biggest hit came at the end of a 19-yard scramble into the red zone when he lowered his shoulder into safety Nick Cross. While Willis popped right back up, however, Cross stayed down after the collision. The 2022 third-round pick Willis never lived up to his billing in Tennessee, but he did exactly what was asked of him on Sunday. Willis completed 12-of-14 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown while running six times for 41 yards, displaying composure in the pocket, zip and accuracy on the few passes he threw and an ability to make something out of nothing with his legs, even in the most unforeseen circumstances.
Late in the second quarter, the Packers faced a third-and-10 from their 47-yard line while leading 10-0. Right before the snap, center Josh Myers leaned his head to the left and vomited. Willis was supposed to pass on the play but scrambled for 3 yards and the Packers punted.
“I asked Malik why he didn’t throw the ball on third down,” LaFleur said, “and he told me that Josh threw up on the ball … that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”
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“I don’t think I got it on the ball,” Myers said, before being told what LaFleur said. “Did I? I did? I tried to lean over. Dang, I’m going to have to apologize for that one. That was probably pretty gross.”
That was just about the only gross part of the Packers’ domination up front, as they mixed in a variety of runs to keep the Colts on their toes. Former Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari praised offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on X after the game for his creativity in the run game. Stenavich is in charge of formulating the team’s run plan and the Packers trotted out a handful of looks, featuring Reed in the backfield, motions, misdirections, right tackle Zach Tom doing work near the sideline on an outside run and much more.
While six players logged multiple rushes, Jacobs, aside from his goal-line fumble in the second quarter, did exactly what the Packers are paying him all that money to do. Entering this season, only Derrick Henry had more carries than Jacobs since the latter entered the league in 2019. Jacobs’ shiftiness in tight spaces and exceptional blocking in front of him, especially early in the game, paved the way on a day he ran more times than in all but two career games.
“He was just grinding those out, too,” Myers said. “It’s not like we were slinging it around and had a bunch of wide-open holes. Those were runs and he was gritting his teeth on all those because they knew we were running the ball, so what an unbelievable job by him. He makes it a lot easier on us. I’ll tell you that.”
Yet for how well Jacobs and the offensive line played, for how stout the defense was in holding an explosive Colts offense to 10 points and intercepting quarterback Anthony Richardson three times, for how punter Daniel Whelan was so good that he earned the first individual shoutout from LaFleur in his postgame press conference, executing a well-crafted game plan relied heavily upon the once-projected first-round pick who flamed out with the team who drafted him.
On a recent Barstool Sports NFL show, former Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, who co-hosts a podcast sponsored by the company, was heavily critical of his former teammate Willis.
“I like Malik Willis,” Lewan began. “He’s a good human being, always has a smile on his face when you see him in the locker room. Guy doesn’t really know ball, unfortunately … the thing about Malik is when it comes to checks, cans, anything oppo, he has a tough time seeing safeties. He has a tough time seeing where blitzes are coming from and Matt LaFleur running a very similar offense to what Arthur Smith ran in Tennessee, I don’t see LaFleur making such a dramatic change where it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re doing Day 1 installs for this guy.’”
How about what LaFleur said after the game?
“I don’t think you guys can appreciate or even comprehend the task that Malik Willis — I mean, this guy got here three weeks ago and for him to be able to go out there and command our offense, we had a lot of long calls. We had shifts, motions, a ton of different run schemes,” LaFleur said. “There was a lot put on his plate and for him to be able to go out there and do what he did today, I think that speaks volumes of who he is as a person and the work that he’s put in. Just super proud of him. I think our coaches did a great job preparing him.”
It’s a brotherhood pic.twitter.com/e2ePjTvqBJ
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 15, 2024
Willis had started three career games before Sunday, all with the Titans in his rookie season two years ago. He had thrown no touchdowns and three interceptions. Back to the bench he went. Even he admitted that he wasn’t ready. Entering his chance at redemption after Mason Rudolph beat him out for the Titans’ backup job, Willis still didn’t know if he’d deliver when the lights turned on in front of nearly 80,000 in Green Bay despite maintaining his confidence while waiting his turn.
The Packers didn’t ask Willis to carry them on his shoulders, but he did more than enough to help them earn a much-needed win. The team released a video postgame of LaFleur giving Willis the lone game ball, after which players mobbed him. Encircled by his new teammates, Willis thanked them for instilling confidence in him.
“I just needed to execute whatever play got called in to the best of my ability,” Willis said. “That’s all you can do, and worry about anything else is just false in your mind. It just creeps up and builds all these different scenarios and whatnot that you just don’t need because all you can do is just execute each play as it comes in to the best of your ability.”
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Willis brushed aside the notion he has a chip on his shoulder because of how things ended in Tennessee while speaking with reporters postgame. Ironically enough, the Packers visit the Titans next Sunday. Willis was asked about potentially starting that game and again shrugged it off. He doesn’t seem interested in anything other than preparing to play and helping the Packers win.
Everything outside that? Who cares.
(Top photo of Malik Willis: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
