Scores from win over Jaguars

Nothing comes easy for the Green Bay Packers.

They went against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had two wins in Sunday’s game.

They built two 10-point leads and lost both.

They lost their starting quarterback.

They also lost two key members of the secondary.

Luckily, they didn’t lose Josh Jacobs and traded him for Malik Willis in late August.

Jacobs helped the Packers retake the lead in the third quarter. Willis ensured the Packers would leave Jacksonville with a victory.

They earned high marks on our weekly Packers report card after the 30-27 win.

Skip attack

Based on opponent passer rating, Jacksonville’s defense entered the game as one of the worst in NFL history.

Considering this fact, Jordan Love’s performance was disappointing, to say the least. He left the game with a groin injury after going 14-for-22 with another interception.

This game seemed like a great opportunity for the Packers to get their passing offense going ahead of the test they’ll face in November. Instead, Love left the game and is now in doubt heading into next week’s showdown with the Detroit Lions.

When Love left the game, Willis saved the day.

Willis won all three games he was asked to play in over an extended period.

His first three targets totaled 5 yards as the Packers focused on their run game. However, his final accomplishment was his biggest kick, a 51-yard strike to Jayden Reed that set up the game-winning field goal.

Coach Matt LaFleur almost couldn’t find the words to describe how well Willis played.

“It was pretty darn impressive,” LaFleur said.

LaFleur’s game plan and the fact that he didn’t use the passing game against a bad defense was surprising.

So did the fact that the Packers blew a 27-17 lead.

In the end, none of this will haunt them because of Willis’ heroism.

Rating: B

Rush attack

Much of the focus will be on Willis for his key finish against Reed. This is a passing league. The quarterbacks and receivers get all the attention.

However, the hero of this game was the running back, who, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwellwas a disappointment.

Perhaps Jacobs heard about it. Maybe he didn’t do it. The reality is that he gave his team a 20-17 lead after Love left the game with an injury.

Jacobs finished the day with 25 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns. He was the best player on the field.

The Packers needed Jacobs in Willis’ first game against Indianapolis, and they needed him in Jacksonville. Jacobs completed both times.

The Packers are thrilled to have him, and they should be.

Chris Brooks also gets high marks for his football IQ. Late in the game, the Jaguars tried to let Brooks score to get the ball back instead of allowing the Packers to win the game on a shallow field goal.

Brooks never scored a touchdown during the regular season, but his unselfish play virtually guaranteed victory.

His final performance puts the cherry on top of the day’s highest score.

Rating: A

Pass the defense

An interception by safety Xavier McKinney and a sack by linebacker Edgerrin Cooper led to 14 points for the Packers.

However, even with star rookie Brian Thomas Jr. and explosive veteran Christian Kirk out with injuries, the Jaguars rallied from a 27–17 deficit.

The fact that Jaguars cornerback Trevor Lawrence was able to run down the field twice with backup receivers to tie the game was disappointing.

Before their troubles late in the game, the Packers were situationally excellent. The Jaguars missed their first eight downs on third down. They didn’t convert a third down until the game’s final play, when they scored the tying touchdown.

Lawrence’s 308 passing yards and two touchdowns would have made more sense if Kirk and Thomas had been able to finish the game. Since they didn’t, it’s even more disappointing.

They’ll have to be better next week against Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Lions’ explosive offense.

Rating: C

Rush defense

Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby is a tough guy to handle. He entered the game ranked second among running backs in yards per carry and first in yards after contact per carry.

Bigsby had a good day, but finished with only 78 yards on 18 carries. He did a lot of it himself, battling poor tackling.

The toughest moment of the day came when Lawrence landed. Cooper sniffed the 5 and Lawrence pulled three defenders into the end zone for the Jaguars’ first touchdown of the game.

Ultimately, the Packers had a solid, if unspectacular, performance against Jacksonville.

They face a much tougher test next week against a fast-paced Lions side.

Rating: B

Special teams

There were no real errors on special teams.

Daniel Whelan punted in the first half in the shadow of his own end zone. He later made up for it with a 63-yard punt that was capped by a great tackle by Bo Melton that sent the Jaguars down the length of the field to tie the game.

Brandon McManus was perfect again. There were no counter opportunities or any gaffes in the return play.

Most of the time, all you ask of special teams is to go undetected. For the most part, that’s exactly what happened.

That is, of course, until the very end, when McManus kicked his second game-winning field goal in as many weeks. This one was much shorter than last week. His 24-yard field goal as time expired helped the Packers snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Rating: B

Coaching

Calling LaFleur’s game plan in the first half strange might be an understatement.

LaFleur faced the worst pass defense in the NFL.

All of his receivers were healthy and ready to play. However, for some reason, he continued to use heavy formations to get Jacksonville’s linebackers on the field.

This happened due to an increase in the number of defenders on the field.

His play calling to end the first half was also interesting.

In the field goal series that made the score 10-0, LaFleur essentially had two plays that had no chance after Christian Watson kicked a pre-snap penalty to put it on first and score at the 14.

His decision to take the ball first after winning the coin toss has also backfired each of the last two weeks. Sean Ryan’s penalty ended a promising opening attack. Mistakes like these continue to plague this team.

If they don’t turn the ball over, they commit a penalty. If they don’t commit a regular penalty, it’s a pre-snap penalty. Otherwise, they won’t take advantage of the other team’s mistakes and score touchdowns in the red zone.

There’s also the feast or famine nature of his quarterback, which has yet to be corrected as Love threw yet another interception. This one, facing a defense that had thrown one interception all season, got into the red zone and took points off the board.

Or, in Sunday’s case, it could all be due to a game plan that wasn’t designed to take advantage of the opponent’s biggest weakness.

He may have had to compensate after Love was injured during the first episode.

LaFleur also became too conservative late in the game. His final run, when he led 27-20, consisted of two uninspiring runs followed by a pass that seemed to have no chance. This led to a punt and the Packers defense was asked to save the day, which it failed to do.

LaFleur had similar success in the NFL, but it wasn’t his best day.

Even defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley took a bit of a beating.

After giving up fewer than 10 second-half points every week since the season opener, the Packers defense gave up 17 points in the second half, including the tying score when Lawrence and the Jaguars, with their backup receivers, simply marched through the gate. field.

The failure at a crucial moment overshadows what was a largely excellent game up to that point.

The Packers picked up their first eight third downs and forced two turnovers.

The reality is that the way the Packers played late in the game was inexcusable. The offense didn’t work, and the defense gave up as many as eight completions of 20-plus yards.

This event would have kept the coaching staff up at night all week if they had let it go. Thanks to the heroics of Willis, Jacobs and McManus, they have nothing to worry about.

Rating: D

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