Matt LaFleur, Malik Willis and Herm Edwards: ‘You Play To Win the Game’

Based on time and timeouts, Matt LaFleur’s decision to let Malik Willis run a play the Packers hadn’t repped in practice could have cost it the game at Jacksonville. So, why take a chance?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) warms up before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On second-and-6 with 1:13 remaining and the score tied 27-27, Malik Willis ripped a 51-yard completion to Jayden Reed that helped the Green Bay Packers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It just as easily could have lost the game.

Had Willis’ pass been incomplete, the clock would have stopped. That would have set up third-and-6, with Jacksonville having two timeouts in its back pocket to win the game had it forced a punt.

So, why did coach Matt LaFleur put the game in the hands of his backup quarterback, who at that point had thrown for only 5 yards in relief of injured Jordan Love?

“Do I have to channel my best Herm Edwards? You play to win the game,” LaFleur said.

LaFleur chose not to imitate Edwards’ famous line – “I don’t want to put a meme out there” – but instead enjoyed a laugh with reporters and the memory of an unforgettable play.

So, what gave him the confidence to let Willis run a play that the team hadn’t repped at practice that week?

“I was comfortable with potentially having to run the ball again before we got into our 2-minute mode,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, you’ve got to get that first down, but the fact that they had two timeouts left, I wasn’t really concerned about the time element.

“I was concerned in the fact that I didn’t want to give them the ball back with too much time, but I just felt like that was a calculated shot.”

The play was a fake handoff to Josh Jacobs that looked like a bootleg. Instead of Willis replicating the keeper that he ran for 20 yards in the third quarter, he stopped between the hashes and fired one to Reed, who had left the safety face-first on the turf.

“If we got the look, we were pretty confident that it would be open,” LaFleur explained. “And if we didn’t get the look, then I felt like it was going to be something that we were playing to Malik’s strengths in the fact that we ran a keeper earlier in the game and he got an explosive run on it.

“So, his ability to move, and you can always count on him picking up yardage with his legs. He does a great job, he’s super-athletic and explosive, and so I just felt like it was kind of playing to his strengths.”

Willis’ pass couldn’t have been thrown any better. Reed caught the ball 25 yards downfield at the Jaguars’ 41 and took it another 26 yards up the sideline to set up Brandon McManus’ game-winning field goal.

“Usually those are the ones that when a guy’s that open that you tend to baby it out there, and he threw a dime,” LaFleur said. “He hit Jayden right in stride. Obviously, that was a critical play in the game.”

To lead the Packers to the winning points against the Jaguars was a remarkable achievement considering he doesn’t take any reps with the offense during the practice week.

“Yeah, that’s life as a backup quarterback in this league is you get all your reps through the scout team,” LaFleur said. “I’m so impressed by his ability to go in there midgame. The moment’s not too big for him. I don’t think that’s the case for everybody. It seems like his heartbeat, it just stays pretty consistent.

“There were some big-time plays he made in that game, obviously, and I also think the belief that the team has in him and his ability to lead us, I think it’s pretty evident when you watch us play. That was a huge play to Jayden Reed at the end of the game.”

Willis won both starts when Love was out with a knee injury and now has a win in relief. For the season, he has completed 29-of-39 passes for 380 yards with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 130.3 passer rating. In three starts with Tennessee as a rookie in 2022, he completed 31-of-61 passes for 276 yards with zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a 42.8 rating.

Love reportedly has a chance to start in Sunday’s NFC North showdown against the first-place Lions. Willis, though, will be ready if forced into action against arguably the best team in the NFL.

It’s incredible how far Willis has come in the two months since being acquired in a trade with the Titans.

“I think we have some pretty good people around him,” LaFleur said. “I think that’s always important is you better have some playmakers around you, and I think the line’s done a nice job. But, ultimately, he’s been able to go out there and execute. He’s the one making the throws. If you get somebody open, you still have to make the throw and make the play, and I think he’s demonstrated that.

“And I think the progression he’s made in practice, I think his footwork is gotten much better. That’s a credit to the work he’s putting in, but I think Tom (Clements), Connor (Lewis) and Sean (Mannion) do a great job with him putting in extra time post-practice when he’s not getting all those reps, and that’s important time for the development of any player. But, ultimately, he’s got to be willing, accepting of the coaching and then go out there and put the work in, and he’s done that.”

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Josh Jacobs, who ran over, around and through the Jaguars on Sunday but was slow off the field after his final carry, will be ready to rumble against the Lions.

A look at what he's meant for the #Packers: ⬇️https://t.co/4UfQ9nPuhC

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 28, 2024

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