The 2024 Green Bay Packers season looked doomed when starting quarterback Jordan Love suffered an injury during their game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil. Given how little he has accomplished in the past, no one gave Malik Willis a chance to succeed.
However, the former Liberty quarterback has silenced his critics throughout his first two starts with Green Bay. He’s playing heads-up football, leading to two victories for one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
Since Love’s injury came toward the tail end of the Eagles, Willis didn’t do much in that game. The former third-round pick had one passing attempt and took a sack to close out the 34-29 loss to Philadelphia.
It was an entirely different story a week later when Willis led the Packers to victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He completed 12 passes out of 14 attempts for 122 yards and a touchdown. However, the third-year player added six carries for 41 rushing yards as a dual-threat quarterback.
Finally, Willis got payback with his former team, the Tennessee Titans. In their Week 3 showdown, he had 13 passes for 202 yards, six carries for 73 yards, and two touchdowns. Those numbers translate to 25.38 fantasy points.
Willis has better stats in his two games with the Packers than in his two years with the Titans. He has a 76 percent completion percentage and a 126.3 passer rating in his two starts.
Malik Willis is thriving with the @packers pic.twitter.com/OAsn6jCJ0d
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 23, 2024
More importantly, the Packers are at 2-1, one game behind division leaders Minnesota Vikings. Willis will have their clash with the Vikings on Sunday, September 29, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
-Lance Fernandez