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Part – Newstatenabenn

Josh Jacobs and Malik Willis save the Packers against the Jaguars
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Josh Jacobs and Malik Willis save the Packers against the Jaguars

Was Sunday’s game a cheat game?

I guess that depends on who you ask, but if you believe that kind of thing, the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday fits all the criteria.

The top team, the Packers, were coming off an emotional victory over another contender.

They were playing an inferior team on the road before a matchup against a division leader at Lambeau Field.

Sunday’s game seemed to dominate the Packers in the first half. At one point they were outscoring the Jacksonville Jaguars by a margin of 9 to 1.

Despite that, Green Bay only led 13-10 at halftime thanks to more unforced errors and costly errors.

The second half was wild.

The Packers fell behind 17-13 and lost their quarterback in the process.

Things looked dangerous, but Josh Jacobs, Malik Willis and Edgerrin Cooper saved the day.

Here’s our weekly stock report, starting with its star running back.

jose jacobs

Josh Jacobs may not have received 20 touches a week ago, but he was effective against the Houston Texans last week.

This week, his team needed him to step up as Jordan Love left the game with a groin injury.

With Love on the bench, Jacobs did what he did the first time backup quarterback Malik Willis had to play in Love’s place.

Malik Willis’ first complete possession put the Packers down for the first time in Sunday’s game. They needed to organize a campaign to help their defense stop the bleeding.

Jacobs understood the task.

He carried the ball five times for 54 yards on that series.

That ended with a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Packers the lead late in the third quarter.

Jacobs finished the day with 25 carries and 127 yards remaining with two touchdowns on the day.

Jacobs may not have the flashiest numbers or score two touchdowns a week, but he has been excellent.

Both on the field and in the locker room, he has been exactly what the Packers could have hoped for when they signed him to replace Aaron Jones.

Xavier McKinney

The long drought is over.

Yes, Xavier McKinney didn’t have an interception for two full games after intercepting a pass in each of his first five as a Packer.

After Jordan Love threw an interception in the red zone, McKinney returned the favor as Trevor Lawrence attempted to target Christian Kirk on a deep route.

McKinney, who had his eyes on the quarterback, made his breakaway and grabbed what turned out to be an easy interception.

McKinney’s interception led to what was Green Bay’s only touchdown of the first half.

With six interceptions this young season, McKinney appears to be a genuine candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, if such a thing exists at the end of October.

Regardless, the Packers are thrilled to have McKinney and today they showed why.

Romeo Doubs

Matt LaFleur has said that the use of the phrase “number one receiver” makes him want to vomit.

That may be so, but over the past two weeks it has been clear who Green Bay’s top target has been.

Romeo Doubs caught eight passes for 94 yards in the team’s 24-22 victory over the Houston Texans.

In his two games since being suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, Doubs has 11 receptions for 166 yards.

Doubs had a spectacular catch in the first half, with a deep ball down the right sideline where he showed strong hands to throw the ball away from his body.

The Packers may not want a go-to receiver, but Doubs seems to be the one playing the best at this point in the season.

Edgerrin Cooper

Green Bay had just regained the lead to 20-17 when its defense faced a third-and-6 early in the third quarter.

Edgerrin Cooper was sent on a blitz and did what he has seemingly done every time he has been on the field.

It had an impact.

He wrapped one hand around Trevor Lawrence and pushed the ball away with the other.

The result was a fumble that was recovered by teammate Devonte Wyatt deep in Jacksonville territory.

Two plays later, Malik Willis threw a touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft and the Packers led by 10.

Not to rest on his laurels, Cooper broke up a third-down pass to Christian Kirk deep down the field to force a punt.

Cooper has made an impact and is being asked to play more with Quay Walker on the sidelines.

As long as Walker passes the concussion protocol, Cooper should be on the field.

Malik Willis

What a story Malik Willis has been. He has now started two games and entered one in relief.

Games were in doubt every time Willis stepped on the field.

Every time, he delivered.

Yes, he was encouraged by a strong running game led by Josh Jacobs, but every time a backup enters a game, he finds himself in an impossible situation.

Expectations for backup quarterbacks are typically low.

If you had told Brian Gutekunst that Willis would do what he has done in games where he has been asked to play more than one or two snaps, he would have traded a much higher draft pick for him.

Heck, the Tennessee Titans might not have traded him if they knew what he was capable of.

Today he was asked to win a game with a late drive.

Willis did just that on a play-action pass that was scored for Jayden Reed.

Reed only had two receptions that day, but he made the last one count. A 51-yard catch-and-run put the Packers in position for a game-winning field goal.

Willis saved the Packers’ season when he helped them win two games after starting 0-1.

Today, he helped save the day and helped them keep pace with the ferocious Detroit Lions.

Chris Brooks

It’s a work that seemed so small at the time, but it was so big.

With Josh Jacobs leaving the game due to fatigue, it was Brooks who was entrusted with what ended up being the final carry of the game.

With no timeouts, the Jaguars defense was trying to let Brooks get to the end zone as a way to save time.

It would have been easy for Brooks to score a touchdown. Selfishly, that would have been a great move for him.

However, what practically guaranteed a victory was generosity.

Brooks had the presence of mind to fall near the goal line. Brandon McManus did the rest from there.

Brooks is also carving out a role in pass protection.

Sometimes it’s the smallest plays that make the biggest difference.

Brooks did that today.

Late football

Jeff Hafley and Matt LaFleur can take advantage of this situation because of what happened today.

The Packers led 27-17 early in the fourth quarter thanks to touchdowns by Josh Jacobs and Tucker Kraft.

From there, it seemed like they were trying to take the air out of the ball on both sides.

Jeff Hafley, normally aggressive, softened.

Matt LaFleur also became conservative on offense.

The result was a 27-27 tie with less than two minutes left.

The Packers should have won this game long before Malik Willis’ latest attack, but this team simply refuses to make it easy for them.

In this case, it wasn’t the players who made mistakes, but rather they were put in a bad position.

Fortunately for the coaching staff, Malik Willis saved the day with a big play to Jayden Reed on a two-minute drill, and the Packers won on a field goal for the second straight week.

Matt La Fleur

Nothing about LaFleur’s day made much sense today.

Their game plan, which seemed to keep Jacksonville’s defensive backs off the field while Love was in the game, was strange.

The continuous mistakes of his team that plague him reflect on him at some point.

Penalties, sloppiness, and ineffective play have been the hallmarks of this year’s Packers team.

Obviously, they are still very good. That speaks to how talented this roster is and how good a coach LaFleur usually is.

The reality is that during the month of October, the Packers played very well in one game. Their 34-13 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals gave a glimpse of what kind of team they could be.

Otherwise? They didn’t play their best games against teams that weren’t good enough or were too injured to take advantage.

Combine that with a ridiculous challenge LaFleur made on a play where Tank Bigsby was clearly on the ground.

Maybe he was trying to shoot on a play that was going to take a timeout anyway, but the decision was sloppy, to say the least.

LaFleur was probably too conservative late in the game to have a chance to put the game away.

Malik Willis might be a backup, but he’s gained more trust than LaFleur showed in him in that final series.

In fact, Willis proved that one series after LaFleur got too conservative, as he hit a perfect hit on a 51-yard bomb to Jayden Reed that nearly won the game.

Javon Bullard

Bullard had a third-quarter drive he will surely want to forget.

With Green Bay leading 13-10, Jeff Hafley pressured Trevor Lawrence to try to create a big play.

He did it. The problem was that it was for Christian Kirk and the Jaguars.

Kirk shook Bullard’s coverage, knocking him down in the process, and gained 26 yards.

Two plays later, it was Bullard again, beaten in coverage by Brian Thomas for a touchdown that gave the Jaguars a 17-13 lead.

Bullard was asked to play more, as Evan Williams exited the game with a hamstring injury.

It was a struggle and it’s unclear if Williams will be ready for next week’s matchup against the Detroit Lions’ high-powered offense.

Packers-Jaguars: History of the game | Packers-Jaguars: Game highlights | Packers-Jaguars: Live updates | Packers-Jaguars: great confrontation | Three reasons why the Packers will beat the Jaguars | Three reasons why the Packers will lose to the Jaguars | Saturday’s transactions: What they mean for Packers-Jags | Packers miss several top receivers | Brian Gutekunst’s genius was on display this week