Another week, another away game where injuries decimate the Green Bay Packers, and they can’t escape with a win.
How weird that it happened twice.
Last week, the Packers lost Micah Parsons for the season while three other starters went down. This week, Green Bay’s other most important player, quarterback Jordan Love, exited the game after a (dirty) hit from Austin Booker put him into concussion protocol.
The loss to the Chicago Bears already tattered Green Bay’s chances of taking the NFC North, and a playoff spot isn’t a lock yet. Now, with Love in concussion protocol, there’s a decent chance Malik Willis will once again need to keep the Packers’ playoff hopes alive. Willis played well in relief of Love but suffered injuries of his own. What would the Packers need from Willis to keep their postseason hopes afloat?
Losing Love to a vicious injury a week after losing Parsons looked disastrous for the Packers, but the winds of Chicago weren’t too much for Willis.
The backup quarterback played well and gave the Packers more than a fighting chance. Only a classic Green Bay special teams blunder, a brutal flashback to the 2014 NFC Championship Game, and other self-inflicted errors kept Willis from doing more than enough to win the game.
The Packers leaned on the run early in the quarterback succession, letting the running backs and Willis’ legs do most of the damage. Once the Bears started stacking the box and expecting the runs, Willis proved he was no one-trick pony.
Willis completed nine of his 11 throws for 121 yards and a touchdown, with a long of 33. The Bears seemed astonished every time Willis dropped back, and he had some truly excellent throws. Even on his best throw of the day, a bomb to Luke Musgrave, he could have hit a wide-open Christian Watson for a walk-in TD. Willis’ growth since joining the Packers is a thing of beauty, and there is still potential for further development.
Unfortunately, Willis took a brutal sack to end regulation and was banged up in overtime, though that didn’t stop him from making some nice plays. Ultimately, a botched snap between Willis and center Sean Rhyan ended the offense’s hopes.
Willis admitted the snap error was his fault, as he sought to speed up the snap count to get the play off in time. With Willis set to get first-team reps as long as Love is in protocol, common backup mistakes like that will get ironed out before the Packers take on the Baltimore Ravens next Saturday.
It’ll be a few days before we know if Love has a chance to play Saturday. Concussion protocol is always a multi-day affair, and you don’t want to be impetuous with head injuries. Matt LaFleur said on Sunday that he hadn’t talked to Love, but it sounded like Love was feeling better. Still, “feeling better” isn’t an official diagnosis.
Willis is no guarantee this week either, with LaFleur calling his injuries “a legitimate deal.” The team’s backup quarterbacks are Jayden Reed and Josh Jacobs, and Clayton Tune is on the practice squad.
Still, assumption time: Let’s make asses of one another and assume the most likely scenario: Willis is the starting quarterback against the Ravens. How much pressure is on QB2?
Despite how it might feel after the past two games, Green Bay’s season isn’t over. The Packers just need a few extra things to go their way.
With the loss to the Bears, winning the North is slipping out of reach, but it is not gone yet. If Green Bay wins out and Chicago loses out, the Packers can be kings of the North. That’s really the only option that gives Green Bay a home playoff game.
If the Packers don’t win the division, they’re probably looking at the seventh seed again. Only Detroit is really on Green Bay’s tail, and the Packers swept the Lions, so they have the edge. The calamity of Detroit’s last-second loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is much to Green Bay’s benefit. The Packers need one of the following to happen to stay above Detroit in the Wild Card race:
The Packers would rather control their own destiny than need the help, so Matt LaFleur needs to scheme up another good game plan for Willis. In Willis’ starting games last season, LaFleur showed creativity and a willingness to play into Willis’ unique strengths.
The Ravens are having a tough season with early losses and injuries to Lamar Jackson, and their playoff chances are quickly dwindling. The Packers must win out and hope for some luck on the way, so these birds will still have some teeth to them (I know that’s not scientifically accurate).
Baltimore’s defense has been beat up most of the season and hasn’t been a great unit. Still, they’ve been better against the run than the pass. LaFleur will have to trust Willis’s passing abilities to maintain a balanced attack.
LaFleur believes Willis is a legitimate starting quarterback and has shown faith in his backup when called upon. Willis is a free agent next season, and this game could be his final audition for a starting role somewhere next season.
With the “must-win” nature of the matchup, the need to generate positive momentum after the past two games, and Willis’ upcoming free agency, expect some fun things from LaFleur and Willis in the quest for the postseason.
