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The Packers' resilience was reflected in their willingness to win


The Packers' resilience was reflected in their willingness to win

It all started with Reed's catch. The second-year receiver said he saw the play unfold before the ball was even snapped after Green Bay worked toward the play call all afternoon.

With the game on the line and Love out, head coach Matt LaFleur called for Willis to execute. Confident in his task, Reed fought his way through the middle of the Jacksonville defense and made no mistake on the other side to release the ball 51 yards out.

There was beauty in the simplicity of the piece.

“We ran a play earlier that countered that a little bit, and we only saw the opening, so we ran it,” Reed said. “I knew I was going to be open before the play was even called. Just great play calls from the coach and great execution from us.”

Willis was again efficient with four completions for 56 yards, including a 3-yard TD to Tucker Kraft early in the quarter. Acquired in a trade with Tennessee in August, Willis won two spot starts against his former team and the Indianapolis Colts in September.

To get their third win over an AFC South opponent, Willis and the Packers had to dig deep. After Kraft's score, Green Bay continued on its next two possessions, opening the scoring enough for the Jaguars to tie the game.

However, the Packers' offense was still confident. After a 4-yard pickup on first down, running back Josh Jacobs thought for a second that Reed might take his 51-yard catch to the house.

“If you watch me in that game, I had my hands up,” said Jacobs, who finished with 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. “As soon as he caught the ball, I thought he was going to score. We believe in him. There aren’t many people in this league who can catch him at full strength.”

“For Malik to be able to make that play, for him to make the big catch and get the yards, that was definitely necessary.”

Jacksonville exhausted its timeouts before attempting to allow backup running back Chris Brooks to score a touchdown on a second-and-7 carry at the Jaguars' 12-yard line.

Brooks gave up his first NFL score and went down on the Jacksonville 3, allowing Green Bay to cut the clock to two seconds. Had Brooks scored, the Jaguars would have had a chance to tie the game again with about 59 seconds left.

“Just not scoring. That’s the only thing on my mind,” said Brooks, a former free agent who signed with Green Bay after training camp. “It's for the good of the team, so it's always a pleasure to get the win first and then do everything I can to help the team.”

McManus took care of the rest. According to Elias Sports, not only was it the first time McManus scored two consecutive game-winning goals, but it is also the first time in NFL history that a kicker scored in his first two games with one team scored game-winning field goals, according to Elias Sports' office.

While the win was far from perfect, it was enough to snatch Green Bay's fourth straight win and clinch the AFC South for the season.

“Obviously they have the right culture here. The coaches implemented it and the players bought into it,” said McManus. “(They) have built these players, continue to build them, because we are going to need every single one of them. You don't know when it's time to make the big game. “I’m really excited to be here and help this team win.”

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