‘Huge play’ by Packers QB Malik Willis earns the win

He had 1:48 on the clock and two timeouts, but LaFleur wanted to strike. The play he called wasn’t even in the game plan, but on a keep or bootleg pass earlier, offensive passing game coordinator Jason Vrable saw that the shot downfield could be there. So it was discussed on the sidelines and, if necessary, put on the (mental) call sheet.

This was the moment. LaFleur called a running play, with a “can” or audible to the play action, looking for the Jaguars to provide the right coverage look for the longer throw.

Willis didn’t see it, so no change on the line on first down. But perhaps the conservative run to start, combined with how close to the vest the Packers played it, with Willis protecting a lead, lulled the Jaguars a bit.

“I’m sure they were thinking, ‘What the hell are these guys doing? They’re going to play for overtime,'” LaFleur said. “I had a pretty good idea. With the amount of single safety they played throughout the game, there was a good chance we could get it, and we did.”

Second, same play, same can call, and the look was there. Willis checked.

The protection held and Reed was wide open along the sideline to Willis’ left. The throw was aimed right at him and he reached the Jacksonville 15-yard line, effectively ending the game.

“I’m trying to read it true,” Willis said. “J-Reed opened up and I’m glad we got it to him.”

It was a remarkable finish, especially for a quarterback who gets all his practice reps on the scout team. His first-team reps during the week? “None,” Willis said.

Not that it bothered him.

“Every week we have two minutes (in practice). Even though I haven’t done those reps, they’re mental reps,” Willis said. “Look what Matt calls it, every piece with a purpose. I just try to stay on the same page with him.”

“I mean, we’re blessed to have a backup that can come in and really be the man in there, really be able to create things like that,” Jacobs said. “We all said on the call, Tucker Kraft said, ‘Man, we’ve been here before,’ and we all know how it felt.

“We just had the confidence in him and he came out and did what he always did. He did a good job.”

He also kept Jacksonville from getting another possession. QB Trevor Lawrence played the entire stretch without his top two receivers (Brian Thomas Jr. and Christian Kirk) due to injury, but that didn’t seem to matter. Overtime would have been a risky endeavor at best, the way things were going.

“I’m very pleased with the efforts of our group and the resiliency of our group,” LaFleur said. “That’s hard to do when the momentum is going one way. It’s a crazy phenomenon.

“To be able to go in there at the end of the game and make a huge play against Jayden Reed….”