Malik Willis admits he wasn’t fully prepared the last time he had to start an NFL game. He knew he would be more ready when his next chance came.
With strong support from his new team, Willis showed he was ready on Sunday by helping the Green Bay Packers win 16-10 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Willis, who joined the Packers on August 27 in a trade with Tennessee, threw his first career touchdown pass to help the team manage without the injured Jordan Love.
“I don’t think you guys can appreciate or even understand the challenge Malik Willis faced,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “This guy got here three weeks ago.”
Love was out of the game due to a left medial collateral ligament injury he suffered during the last moments of a 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on September 6 in Brazil. It was the first game Love missed since becoming Green Bay’s starting quarterback last year.
The Packers (1-1) relied on a strong all-around performance to win without Love. Josh Jacobs rushed for 151 yards on 32 carries, leading Green Bay’s 261-yard rushing game.
The defense forced three interceptions from Anthony Richardson. The Packers might not have won without Willis’ composure.
Willis had made three previous starts— all in 2022— and hadn’t passed for as many as 100 yards in any of those games. Tennessee traded him for a seventh-round pick after he didn’t secure the backup spot behind Titans starter Will Levis.
“I’m just thankful for another chance in a new place, a fresh start,” Willis said. “I’m grateful to be with people who have helped me learn and grow in the past three weeks.”
Willis played effectively, completing 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks. Brayden Narveson added three field goals for Green Bay’s other points.
Jonathan Taylor of Indianapolis ran for 103 yards on 12 carries but didn’t get the ball in the fourth quarter. Richardson went 17 of 34 for 204 yards, including one touchdown and three interceptions. He also rushed for 37 yards on four carries.
“We started out slow as a group, especially as an offense,” Richardson said. “We definitely can’t do that. We know we’re better than that.”
The Packers didn’t need Willis to pass much early on because their running game was dominating against the Colts’ weak defense, allowing them to take a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The lead grew to 13-0 early in the third quarter.
Green Bay ran the ball on 53 of their 67 plays, marking their highest number of running plays since they had 54 in a 10-10 tie with Minnesota in 1978.
The Packers gained 164 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, the most for any NFL team since the Denver Broncos had 167 yards in the first quarter of a 41-23 loss to the New England Patriots on December 18, 2011. By halftime, the Packers had 237 rushing yards on 34 carries.
“We knew we had to come in and run the ball today,” Jacobs said. “We knew we had to set that tone.”
The Packers kept running the ball on a hot day that tested their offensive linemen. The temperature at kickoff was 85 degrees, tied for the second-warmest home game in team history (since 1959), behind only an 89-degree game against Cincinnati on September 24, 2017.
The heat was enough of a challenge that Packers center Josh Myers had a notable moment.
“I asked Malik why he didn’t throw the ball on that third down,” LaFleur said, “and he told me that Josh threw up on the ball.”
Indianapolis (0-2) was coming off a 29-27 loss to the Houston Texans, where they allowed 213 rushing yards, the highest total given up in the season’s first week.
“We’ve got to get it fixed,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “It starts with myself; I’m the head coach. We’ve got to get in that meeting room on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and get it fixed. That’s the bottom line.”
Green Bay missed a chance to take control of the game early in the second quarter when Jacobs fumbled on first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Zaire Franklin forced the fumble, and Laiatu Latu recovered it in the end zone.
The Colts’ run defense improved in the second half, but they couldn’t fully recover because their offense missed several chances. The Colts failed to score on three separate trips into Packers territory.
Indianapolis reduced the Packers’ lead to 16-10 with Richardson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 1:47 remaining, but Green Bay’s Evan Williams recovered the following onside kick.
The Colts got the ball back at their own 5-yard line with 43 seconds left, but Williams intercepted a Hail Mary attempt from the Indianapolis 41-yard line to end the game.
