It’s been three seasons since the Green Bay Packers had a four-game winning streak, or more.
Those 2021 Packers ripped off seven- and five-game winning streaks on their way to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The 2024 Packers would love to find themselves in a similar spot, and took a small step towards accomplishing that Sunday.
Green Bay traveled to Jacksonville and won its fourth straight game with a 30-27 victory over the Jaguars. For the second straight week, kicker Brandon McManus had a walk off, game-winning field goal, this one from 24 yards to win the game.
Josh Jacobs had a huge day and the Packers survived a third quarter groin injury to quarterback Jordan Love that knocked him out after just two plays in the second half.
Green Bay improved to 6-2 with a huge game coming next week against Detroit (6-1). Jacksonville fell to 2-6.
“It wasn’t our cleanest game I would say, but I thought just the ability to find a way to get it done,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Ultimately that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s always tough to go on the road and win in this league and our guys, we had multiple guys step up and have to go into the game that maybe were not necessarily planning on going into the game and I thought our coaching staff did a nice job making a lot of adjustments, and ultimately the players themselves being able to go in there and make the plays necessary to get the (win).”
Here’s the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ from the Packers’ win.
With the game tied, 27-27, Green Bay started on its own 30 with 1:48 left. On the second play of that series, Willis hit Jayden Reed for 51 yards to set up the eventual game-winning field goal from McManus
The moment never seems too big for Willis, who was again instrumental in helping the Packers prevail.
“It doesn’t have nothing to do with me,” Willis said of his impact on Green Bay’s season. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity given to me by God. Jesus did way more than I do, so I just lean on that thought.
“This is a game at the end of the day, and I just lean on that fact, and it helps me to get through and not really stress over it. Yes, it’s definitely important, it’s a high stress job, but at the same time, the lord blessed me with this ability, and I just got to utilize it and have fun with it.”
JACOBS SHINES: It appears the more you give Josh Jacobs the ball, the better he gets.
Jacobs had 11 carries for 36 yards in the first half, but had a huge second half and finished with 127 yards on 25 carries.
Jacobs had a 3-yard second quarter touchdown run and a 38-yard TD run late in the third quarter.
“I kept telling them the whole game, I like all of them,” Jacobs said of Green Bay’s run calls. “I liked all the runs. Even when they were tackling me, it was like I’m going down but I’m a step away from getting out of it. I just kept telling them – just trust me. It played out how it did.”
Jacobs entered the day ranked No. 4 in the NFL in rushing yards and No. 6 in yards from scrimmage (657). He’s likely to climb in both spots after his big day Sunday.
“Josh is a very consistent piece to the offense, as far as just getting him the ball and if you see, as games go on, just how much better his production gets throughout the game and I think he’s a physical kind of runner,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He’s very instinctive, really good vision and he does a good job breaking tackles and I think that run style, as a game goes on, wears on defenses. So yeah, he’s everything I thought we were getting. He’s a very big piece of our offense for sure.”
X MARKS THE SPOT: Green Bay’s investment in free agent safety Xavier McKinney continues to pay remarkable dividends.
McKinney had his league-leading sixth interception with a second quarter pick of Trevor Lawrence that led to a Packers’ touchdown.
“I was disguising a one-high look and just did my job,” McKinney said. “I won my landmark and I think he didn’t see what I was disguising and thought I was actually down. I don’t think he saw me go back to a half. He kind of threw an over. I saw the over the whole time and I saw the ball in the air and I knew I could get it.”
Earlier this season, McKinney became the first NFL player since the 1970 merger with an interception in each of his first five games with a team. His streak of five straight games with an interception also tied for the longest streak in franchise history (Irv Comp in 1943).
After two games without an interception — and without many balls thrown in his direction — McKinney was back to his old tricks Sunday.
“I sent him a text the other night and said, ‘Don’t get bored,’ and I mean that,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “His coverage stuff has been outstanding, but he’s affected the game because they’re not throwing the ball deep anymore. That’s affecting the game as much as anybody.
“I told him that’s a sign of ultimate respect. When you’ve been around guys like Revis and some really good players and the ball stops going to him, just don’t get bored because it’s going to go up again and you got to be ready for it and he will be.”
TUCKER TIME: Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft has emerged as one of the elite talents in the league at his position.
Kraft finished Sunday’s game with three receptions for 78 yards, highlighted by a 67-yard reception. That was the Packers’ second longest offensive play of the year, behind a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed in Week 1 against Philadelphia.
Kraft had a 66-yard TD reception in Green Bay’s Week 5 win against the Los Angeles Rams. Kraft didn’t find the endzone with his long catch Sunday, but the play was every bit as vital.
“My route, it was the same route I had on last week’s touchdown,” Kraft said. “I’m really just trying to clear out for some underneath route, but I saw Jordan get out of the pocket. The safety’s job is to be deeper than the deepest, and he wasn’t.
“So I just let myself out the back door, Jordan saw me and was trying to pull the plow. Harder to do when you’ve got a human like a suitcase 30 yards down the field. I really wanted six on that. I was really just trying to make sure I took care of the ball. Because you lose the ball when you can’t see the defender punching the ball out from behind. So I was trying to keep my head on a swivel, have good ball security and just get everything I could out of the run.”
Kraft later caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Malik Willis that gave the Packers a 27-17 lead.
SUPER COOPER: Green Bay rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has been up and down in his first season, but has made a bevy of big plays.
Cooper had one of the biggest plays on Sunday when he had a strip sack of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence early in the fourth quarter. Packers defensive linemen Devonte Wyatt recovered and two plays later, Malik Willis hit Tucker Kraft with a 3-yard TD.
“My main focus was just staying in that gap, keep pushing through,” Cooper said. “I felt I had a (inaudible) on his heels so I just kept pushing through and came out and clamped on the quarterback and it came out.”
Cooper also led Green Bay with nine tackles and a pass defensed.
Cooper entered the day with 1.5 sacks, four tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. Cooper then continued to make his mark with a huge play Sunday.
“He provides a lot of speed for us, especially on the second level,” McKinney said of Cooper. “He can cover. He can rush. It allows us to do a whole lot more on the back end. Just mix in different calls and he’s been a great addition for us.
“Obviously, he’s still learning and going through bumps here and there, but that’s why guys like me, I’m here, and other leaders on this defense. That’s why we’re here to get him through that. But he’s been good overall.”
NO ‘I’ IN TEAM: When you’re looking for unsung heroes and team-first guys, start with running back Chris Brooks.
With the game tied at 27 in the closing moments, Brooks had a chance to score his first-ever NFL touchdown. Instead, he fell down so the Packers could keep milking the clock and make sure Jacksonville didn’t get the ball back.
That’s exactly what happened as Green Bay’s clock management was perfect and McManus kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired.
“It’s for the greater good of the team, so it’s always a pleasure to get the win first and then do whatever I can to help the team,” Brooks said.
When Brooks was asked what he was thinking on that carry where the goal line was so close he said: “Just don’t score.”
He didn’t, which was just what the Packers wanted.
“He’ll get his time. I’m confident of that,” LaFleur said of Brooks. “I think Chris Brooks has been a huge asset to our team, a great pick-up.”
SWEEPING THE SOUTH: Green Bay swept its four games against the AFC South.
The Packers defeated Indianapolis, 16-10, in Week 2 and whipped Tennessee, 30-14, in Week 3. Green Bay edged Houston, 24-22, in Week 7 then finished off the division with its win over the Jaguars.
THIS AND THAT: Josh Jacobs had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter where right guard Sean Rhyan had the key block. … After catching just four passes in the last four weeks, Green Bay wideout Christian Watson had four receptions for 39 yards. … Jacksonville went 1-for-9 on third downs. … Green Bay improved to 6-2 all-time against Jacksonville.
THE BAD
DEFENSIVE MELTDOWN: The Packers played solid defense much of the day as Green Bay built a 27-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Then the defense melted down allowing Jacksonville back in the game.
On the Jaguars’ final two possessions, they scored 10 points and racked up 138 yards in 16 plays (8.6).
Jacksonville tied the game, 27-27, with 1:48 left when Trevor Lawrence hit tight end Evan Engram with a 14-yard touchdown.
“We just had too many mistakes that we typically don’t make,” McKinney said of Green Bay’s defensive struggles. “We just gotta tighten up little things. In order for us to get to where we want to go, we gotta play and execute.
“We gotta be detailed in every single call. We gotta protect the ball. We gotta get the ball. We know that. we just gotta keep chopping down and keep trying to find ways where we can be better on these Sundays.”
LOSING WILLIAMS: Green Bay rookie safety Evan Williams has shined all season, but was lost in the second quarter to a groin injury. Jacksonville’s passing game took off after Williams exited.
Jacksonville didn’t have a first down the first 21 minutes of the game with Williams on the field. After Williams exited, the Packers had to reconfigure their secondary and moved Javon Bullard from the slot to safety, Keisean Nixon from corner to the slot, and inserted Eric Stokes at corner.
THIS AND THAT: Opponents have figured when the Packers are running Jayden Reed. In the first quarter, Green Bay ran Reed on an end around and dropped him no gain. … Green Bay’s first drive stalled after holding calls on offensive linemen Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom.
THE UGLY
LOVE HURTS: For the second time this season, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love was knocked out of a game.
Love left two plays into the third quarter with a groin injury and didn’t return. Love had completed 14-of-22 passes for 196 yards with no touchdowns and an interception at that time.
Love was knocked out late in Green Bay’s 34-29 Week 1 loss to Philadelphia due to a knee injury and missed the next two games.
It’s unclear how long Love’s latest injury will sideline him. The Packers host Detroit on Nov. 3, then have a bye week.
“I do not. No idea,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of the severity of Love’s injury. “But obviously high level of concern any time a guy’s in there, and he did it early in that first drive.
“I think you guys, I think everybody could see him struggling to move around. And it got to a point where we didn’t feel like, and he didn’t feel like he could protect himself.”