GREEN BAY, Wis. — Among the former players in attendance for Alumni Weekend was Green Bay Packers legend Jerry Kramer, who no doubt recognized the game plan from the Packers’ 16-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at steamy Lambeau Field.
With Malik Willis filling in for the injured Jordan Love, coach Matt LaFleur ran the football over and over. And again. And again. And again. And again, just to be sure.
Led by Josh Jacobs’ 151 rushing yards, the Packers ran for 261 yards and claimed their league-record 12th consecutive home victory. Evan Williams’ interception on a Hail Mary sealed the victory.
The Colts scored a late touchdown, but Williams intercepted the onside kick. Three runs by Jacobs were ineffective, and the Packers punted the ball back to the Colts. Daniel Whelan’s punt gave the Colts the ball at the 5 with 43 seconds left.
A 21-yard run by Richardson gave the Colts a Hail Mary, but the ball landed in front of the goal line and was intercepted by Williams.
With Love dealing with a knee injury and Willis having been signed just 20 days earlier, LaFleur ran the most conservative game plan imaginable. And why not? Entering the game, Willis had thrown 67 passes in his career without a single touchdown. What LaFleur did have, however, was Jacobs, a proven workhorse.
The stock report is here. The #Packer used the old Jimmy Valvano from “Survive and Advance” to fend off a late comeback by the Colts and improve the score to 1-1. https://t.co/71YrhmSS8C
— Jacob Westendorf (@JacobWestendorf) 15 September 2024
Just past the halfway point of the first quarter, the Packers had reached 100 rushing yards. In the first quarter, they had 164 rushing yards and in the first half, 237.
Willis may have worked up a sweat, but he certainly doesn’t need to cool his right arm. He completed 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards, surpassing his previous career high of 99 yards. His passer rating was 126.8; his previous career high in a start was 49.0.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter there was a decisive moment: Green Bay defended its lead with 13:3.
On third and 1 in the fourth quarter, the Colts could have handed the ball off to Jonathan Taylor, who had run 29 yards earlier in the series and averaged 8.6 yards per run. Instead, Colts coach Shane Steichen called for a quarterback option. Eric Wilson was all in, and Trey Sermon lost 4 yards. On the next play, Matt Gaye’s 50-yard field goal went wide left.
Still, Willis had to make a play at some point. And he did. On third-and-5 from the 45-yard line, Willis hit a deep pass to Romeo Doubs, who made an incredible catch over cornerback Jaylon Jones for a 39-yard gain. The drive stalled, but Brayden Narveson’s 39-yard field goal made it 16-3 with 10:50 left.
Here’s the reality for the Packers before Sunday: Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, 416 teams had started the season 0-2. Only 40 of those teams – 9.6 percent – qualified for the playoffs. With the NFL’s expanded playoff format, the Houston Texans started 0-2 last year but made the playoffs.
Although the season is still young, don’t underestimate the importance of a win for the underdog Packers.
At halftime, the Packers led 10-0. Everyone in the building knew the Packers were going to run, and it didn’t matter. With a game-high 34 runs versus five passes, the Packers racked up an incredible 237 rushing yards. That was the Packers’ 13th-most rushing yards since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
The franchise record of 366 rushing yards against Detroit in 1947 seemed within reach, even though the running game largely stalled in the second half.
The game – the second hottest home game in franchise history with a kickoff temperature of 86 degrees – couldn’t have started better for the Packers, with an early field goal on offense and a three-and-out on defense.
On their opening drive, the Packers overcame two consecutive penalties as Jacobs ran 37 yards, breaking a tackle that turned a 4- or 5-down gain into a huge gain.
After the defense stopped the ball, the Packers ran the ball all over the field again. Halfway through the drive and with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, the Packers already had 100 rushing yards. The drive began with a 22-yard run by Jayden Reed – a backwards pass – and included a 16-yard end-around by Bo Melton.
Before a third-and-four attempt from the 14-yard line, the Packers had run the ball 16 times and thrown it once. The touchdown came through the air, however, when Willis Dontayvion hit Wicks at the 8-yard line and Wicks ran him into the end zone to make it 10-0.
At the end of the first quarter, the Packers had 164 rushing yards, led by Jacobs’ 10 carries for 81 yards. It was the most rushing yards by a team in a quarter since the Broncos ran for 167 yards with Tim Tebow at quarterback in 2011.
The Packers were on their way to a 17-0 lead when Jacobs was stripped of the ball near the goal line.
However, the defense won all five third downs and allowed only 80 yards in the first half. Taylor had 53 of those yards.
More news about the Green Bay Packers
Packers-Colts: Three reasons for optimism | Packers-Colts: Three reasons for concern | Analysis of Saturday’s squad changes | Sean Clifford promoted | | Nothing “questionable” about the strategy with love | NFC North Power Rankings and Previews | Latest injury report from the Packers-Colts | Jordan Love’s Timeline | Anthony Richardson and Aaron Rodgers’ “Hail Mary” | Honeymoon is over for Hafley | More Edgerrin Cooper | Kraft overtakes Musgrave in the rankings | Packers are big, heavy and (again) young | LaFleur’s Backup QB History | The chances are bad for Jacobs | Which channel for Packers-Colts?
