The Green Bay Packers gained 261 yards on the ground including 151 yards by Josh Jacobs on 32 carries as the Packers downed the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 at Lambeau Field. The win increased the Packers record to 1-1 while the Colts fell to 0-2. Here are 10 things we learned from the Green Bay Packers 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2:
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win over the Colts, Number One: Matt LaFleur Started with Innovative Play Calls
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur likes to script his first 15 plays of the game, and right away you could see he had established a game plan to play to the strengths of his quarterback, Malik Willis. The Packers came out running the football on six of the eight plays on the first drive. LaFleur changed the pre-snap motion and where the ball would be handed off from on each play to keep the Colts defense guessing.
On the second drive, he mixed in jet sweeps and a variety of different types of runs and runners. The only pass on the 11-play, 92-yard drive was the last play, a touchdown pass from Willis to Dontayvion Wicks. It was the first touchdown pass of Willis’ NFL career.
The opening two drives set the tone for the offense and showed the team could move the football without Jordan Love at quarterback.
Number Two: Malik Willis Played to His Strengths
LaFleur also designed his game plan to fit Willis’ strengths. We saw short passes early which led to completions and more confidence for the young signal caller.
At halftime, Willis had completed 4-of-5 passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. The other three completions gained a total of 11 yards, but they were enough to keep the Colts defense off balance.
Willis rolled out, threw high percentage passes and had some designed runs. For the game, the former Liberty star completed 12-of-14 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. His quarterback rating was 126.8. Willis also ran for 41 yards on just six carries, a healthy 6.8-yard average.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win over the Colts, Number Three: Josh Jacobs Dominated the First Half
Everyone expected Jacobs to be the focal point of the Green Bay offense, and he was. But that didn’t stop him from dominating, especially early in the game. In the first quarter, Jacobs ran 10 times for 81 yards. He had 20 carries for 128 yards by halftime and finished the game with 151 yards on 32 rushing tries.
When he wasn’t getting the ball, Jacobs acted as decoy as the defense was keying on him almost all game long.
The one downside for Jacobs was his fumble which came in the second quarter right before he crossed the goal line. Had he scored, the Packers would have had a commanding 17-0 lead, and the game would have been all but over.
Still, there is no way the Packers would have won this game without Jacobs’ strong performance.
Number Four: The Defense Forced Turnovers
The Packers defense allowed only 10 points and didn’t allow a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter. They held the Colts to 338 yards but many of them after the Packers had established a multi-score lead. At the half, Indianapolis had only 80 net yards.
The Packers also forced three turnovers as they picked off Anthony Richardson three times in the game. Xavier McKinney, Eric Wilson, and Evan Williams each had one interception.
The defense also forced three fumbles in the game, but the Colts recovered all three of them.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win over the Colts, Number Five: Don’t Overlook Daniel Whelan
Punters don’t often get noticed unless they make a mistake, but Packers punter Daniel Whelan had a strong game. In a game where field position would be critical for the Packers, Whelan pinned the Colts inside their own 20 on all three of his kicks.
He also averaged 46.3-yards per kick and had a long boot of 59 yards that helped the Packers flip the field.
Number Six: The Packers Still Left Points on the Field
The Packers offense left points on the field again in Week 2 after hurting themselves with the same problem in Week 1.
The Packers were in the red zone three times but only scored on touchdown on those three trips They also missed a field goal for the second straight game when Brayden Narveson was wide right from 45-yards out.
Penalties again hurt the Packers who were penalized six times for 50 yards. They disrupted some of their own drives and gave the Colts one first down. The team needs to clean this up going forward.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win over the Colts, Number Seven: The Packers Won Third Down on Both Sides of the Ball
The Packers won this game on third down. On offense, the Packers were 10-of-17 on third down conversions, a 58.8 percent success rate which is even more impressive without your starting quarterback.
Defensively, the Packers held the Colts to 2-of-9 on third down chances and 1-of-2 on fourth down chances.
That means the Packers made plays in clutch situations on defense and on offense as well.
Number Eight: The Offensive Line Did Their Job Well
The Packers offensive line faced a challenge with an inexperienced quarterback and a game plan that emphasized the running game. Blocking for the run has not been their strength in recent years.
But Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, Jordan Morgan, and Zach Tom did their jobs well. Willis was not sacked all night, and the team averaged 4.9-yard rushing per carry and gained 261 yards on the ground in the game. That’s even more impressive when you knew the Colts were keying on the run all game.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Win over the Colts, Number Nine: Josh Myers Threw Up Prior to the Snap
This wasn’t an easy game for Myers. He was called for two ineligible man downfield penalties which wiped out some big gains.
He also threw up at the line of scrimmage just before snapping the ball but managed to complete the play anyway.
While the vomiting incident went viral, the offensive line got the job done.
Number Ten: The Packers Accomplished Their Minimum Goal
The Packers initially announced Love would miss 3-6 weeks although they were hoping it would be on the low end of that spectrum. The goal was for Willis to win at least one of the games he had to start. Well, that drama ended on the first try as the Packers won this game.
It may not have been artistic to some, but it was smart football, and the team stepped up and found a way to win without their franchise quarterback.
Can the Packers keep the momentum rolling next week against the Titans? It won’t be easy, but we already know the Packers can win a game without Love under center this season.
Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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