3 things that stood out from the Packers' win at Titans
Malik Willis said all week long that if he started Sunday against the Tennessee Titans — remember, the Green Bay Packers thought they might get injured starting quarterback Jordan Love back from his knee injury — that it would in no way be a "revenge game" for him against his former team.
He called that storyline "fluff," and said that only the media would care about it.
"It's for y'all to talk about," the Titans' 2022 third-round draft pick told reporters at his locker on Wednesday when asked about the possibility of him making his second straight start for the team that acquired him for a 2025 seventh-round pick on Aug. 26.
"I mean, we go play however many plays in a game, and it comes to one or two very important plays. And that's how you win or lose a game."
With Love working out before the game but being deactivated for the second straight week , the Packers have now won two in a row with Willis at quarterback — and with him making the plays that win games and avoid the ones that lose games.
In Sunday's 30-14 win over the Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Willis completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 120.9.
He also ran six times for 73 yards, including a nifty 5-yard touchdown run when he faked a handoff and kept the ball on the quarterback option for the game's first points.
His performance included a 30-yard downfield strike to Christian Watson on third-and-6 to set up his touchdown run; a big-time 18-yard completion to Romeo Doubs to convert a third-and-14 later in the first half; and a 30-yard touchdown to running back Emanuel Wilson on a perfectly executed screen pass to push the lead to 27-7 in the third quarter.
In addition to Willis' performance, here are three other things that stood out from the Packers' remarkable second straight win without Love on Sunday.
Packers' pick parade continued — and this time, one resulted directly in points
After finishing last season with only seven interceptions — the Titans, coincidentally, were the only team with fewer (six) — buzz all week was about the Packers' NFL-best five interceptions (and six total takeaways) in the first two games.
They've now already matched last season's total in just three games.
It began with Jaire Alexander's pick-six against mistake-prone Titans quarterback Will Levis, and it ended with safety Xavier McKinney's interception with 2 minutes, 8 seconds left to play in the game.
Alexander's interception, especially considering his only INT last season was in the team's playoff win at Dallas, was especially noteworthy.
With the Packers just having taken a 10-7 lead, Alexander jumped an out route intended for DeAndre Hopkins and intercepted it and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
With clear sailing up the left sideline, Alexander — whose lone interception last season came in the team's NFC wild card playoff win at Dallas — high-stepped the final 10 or so yards on his way to the end zone, setting off a "Go Pack Go!" chant from the thousands of Packers fans who descended on the Music City.
Christian Watson said he wasn't worried about his zero-target game last week. He and his fellow receivers were there for Malik Willis on Sunday
The Packers' run-centric game plan for last week's 16-10 win over the Colts didn't allow for many opportunities for Watson & Co. to be factors.
Watson played 41 snaps and never had a pass come his way. Jayden Reed did more damage as a ball-carrier (two carries for 37 yards) than he did as a pass-catcher (two receptions for 9 yards). Aside from Dontayvion Wicks' 14-yard touchdown, his other two catches went for only 12 yards combined.
And while Doubs led the Packers in receiving (three receptions, 62 yards), more than half of that total came on a 39-yard catch on a 50/50 ball.
Against the Titans, Watson got things going with his 30-yard catch to set up the first touchdown, then added a 37-yard catch later on a third-and-18 from midfield; Reed had four catches for 50 yards, including a 30-yarder on a crossing route on the Packers' first offensive play; and while Doubs' lone catch was the 18-yarder, it did keep a drive alive that ended in a Brayden Narveson field goal.
After managing just three sacks as a team in the first two games, Packers get after Will Levis
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley explained at midweek that his pass-rushers had been holding back in the first two games because the running abilities of Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts and Indianapolis' Anthony Richardson.
There was no such concern with Levis, and the Packers got after him — to the tune of eight sacks.
Levis, who leads the NFL in turnovers (eight) on the season, added a fumble on a sack to the interception he threw to Alexander, then threw his second interception to McKinney.
Devonte Wyatt and Preston Smith were credited with two sacks apiece, while Kingsley Enagbare had 1.5 sacks (and forced a fumble on one), Lukas Van Ness had one and linebackers Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie were each credited with half-sacks.
On the sack-fumble, Enagbare blew past Titans right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, hit Levis high and dislodged the ball, which Van Ness recovered. On a fourth-quarter dropback, Enagbare, Smith and Rashan Gary all met at the quarterback.
The eight sacks marked the most by a Packers defense since a Jan. 2, 2005 win over the Chicago Bears.
