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The Green Bay Packers would not be denied against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Green Bay persevered on a day where starting QB Jordan Love suffered a groin injury early in the game and eventually exited. The Packers, led by backup Malik Willis, marched down the field on the final drive of the game and scored a go-ahead field goal as time expired.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur raved about his offense’s execution on a crucial deep completion on that drive that set up the game-winning field goal.
“I was just looking for the rotation,” LaFleur said after the game, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. LaFleur noted that the strong safety was rotating to the right side of the defensive formation. “On the second play, they showed strong rotation, got the look and the rest is history … Jayden Reed, Tucker, the O-line, the backs, everybody’s selling it. And then ultimately Malik making the throw. So that was a pretty cool one. Probably one I’ll never forget.”
LaFleur believes that the play call, which resulted in a deep completion to Jayden Reed, would fool a Jaguars team that was thinking about overtime.
“I’m sure they were thinking like, ‘What the heck are these guys doing? They’re going to play for overtime,’” LaFleur said of the Jaguars. “I was just hoping that there was going to be strong rotation and had a pretty good idea, with the amount of single safety they were playing throughout the course of the game, that there was a chance we could get it and we got it.”
The play worked to perfection and the Packers got a crucial win to keep pace in a competitive NFC North.
One of the most impressive parts of the Packers’ game-clinching play was that it was not a part of the game plan.
“Not only was it a ‘can’ play, but it was a play that we didn’t have up in the game plan,” LaFleur said, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “We talked about it on Tuesday. We thought that there might be something there, decided against it, and then we ran the keeper earlier in the gamer and [passing game coordinator Jason] Vrable suggested it. He’s like, ‘Hey, it looks like the play is there.'”
LaFleur explains that the coaching staff decided to put the play back in while on the sidelines. He praised his team for executing the play well despite not repping it in practice during the week.
“And so we put it in on the sideline,” LaFleur continued. “So, no reps in practice. I think that’s a big-time credit to our guys, to be able to go out there and execute it. Jayden Reed, Tucker, the O-line, the backs, everybody’s selling it. And then ultimately Malik making the throw. So, that was a pretty cool one. Probably one I’ll never forget.”
Next up for the [Packers is a Week 9 clash...
