With Love watching from the
sideline, the Packers beat the Jaguars 30-27 for 4th straight win
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[October 28, 2024]
By MARK LONG
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers might have to play
without quarterback Jordan Love again.
This time, it could be longer.
Love injured his left groin on the opening possession against
Jacksonville, left the game for good in the third quarter and then
had a front-row seat as backup Malik Willis rallied the Packers to a
30-27 victory.
Coach Matt LaFleur said he had a “high level of concern” for Love's
latest injury. Love missed two games in September with a sprained
left knee.
With Love watching from the sideline Sunday, Willis completed a
51-yard pass to Jayden Reed that set up Brandon McManus' second
winning kick in as many weeks. Willis completed 4 of 5 passes for 56
yards, with a touchdown and the biggest completion of the day.
“The moment’s never too big for him and he made a lot of big-time
plays in this game, not only with his arm,” LaFleur said.
Willis found Reed wide open down the left sideline after safety
Andre Cisco cramped up and fell down.
“I already knew I was going to be open before the play was even
called,” Reed said.
It was all the Packers (6-2) needed to rebound from Trevor
Lawrence's perfectly placed, 14-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram
that helped tie the game.
Engram caught the ball between three defenders and gave the Jaguars
(2-6) all the momentum. But LaFleur dialed up a gut-punch on second
down that was the difference.
Jacksonville tried to let the Packers score, but Chris Brooks
dropped to the ground to help set up McManus' 24-yarder.
Josh Jacobs ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns for Green Bay,
including a 38-yard run in which he juked defenders Ventrell Miller
and De'Antre Prince.
“He’s a stud isn’t he?" LaFleur said. "The physicality that he runs
with. ... He is a pro’s pro. I can’t say enough great things about
him. We’re lucky to have a guy like that, the way he comes in and
communicates and works and demands it of himself but demands it of
others as well.”
Lawrence rallied Jacksonville from a 10-point deficit in the fourth
and tied the game at 27 with his pass to Engram. But the Jags might
not have needed a comeback had Lawrence and his teammates not made
so many mistakes.
Lawrence fumbled at the 5-yard line and threw an interception. The
Jaguars also kept two Green Bay drives alive with penalties.
“We've got to play cleaner,” said Lawrence, who completed 21 of 32
passes for 308 yards.
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Green Bay Packers' Brandon McManus kicks the game-winning field goal
during the second half of an NFL football game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla.
(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jaguars lose six players to injuries
The Jaguars lost all three of their starting receivers: Brian Thomas
Jr. (chest), Christian Kirk (shoulder) and Gabe Davis (shoulder).
Kirk was quickly ruled out after he injured his left shoulder trying
to make a diving catch.
Jacksonville also lost cornerback Ronald Darby (hip), right guard
Brandon Scherff (knee) and left guard Ezra Cleveland (ankle).
Scherff was the only one able to return.
Jacksonville can’t seem to cover tight ends
Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft became the latest tight end to hurt the
Jaguars. Kraft had a 67-yard reception in the second quarter in
which he broke one tackle and stiff-armed another defender to set up
a field goal. He added a 3-yard touchdown catch in the fourth.
Kraft’s performance was no surprise considering how many of his
colleagues have made similar big plays against Jacksonville in
recent weeks: New England’s Hunter Henry (8 catches for 92 yards),
Chicago’s Cole Kmet (5 for 70, 2 TDs) and Indianapolis’ Mo Alie-Cox
(2 for 37, TD).
McManus returns to beat former team
McManus returned to the place where he played last season and
delivered three field goals in the victory.
McManus was with the Jaguars in 2023 and signed with Washington in
the offseason before two women sued him and the Jaguars in civil
court alleging he sexually assaulted them when they were working as
flight attendants on the Jaguars’ trip to London.
The NFL later said it didn’t find sufficient evidence that McManus
violated the personal conduct policy, and the lawsuit was resolved.
McManus signed with Green Bay last week and kicked a 45-yard field
goal in the final play of the Packers’ 24-22 victory over the
Houston Texans last Sunday.
Other key injuries
The Packers lost rookie safety Evan Williams to a hamstring injury.
Up next
The Packers host NFC North rival Detroit next Sunday.
The Jaguars play at Philadelphia, with coach Doug Pederson returning
to face his former franchise for the second time in three seasons.
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