GREEN BAY, Wis. — Malik Willis threw the first touchdown pass of his career, Josh Jacobs accounted for 151 of Green Bay’s 261 rushing yards and the Packers defied the absence of injured quarterback Jordan Love to beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 on Sunday.
Indianapolis (0-2) cut the Packers’ lead to 16-10 with 1:47 left on Anthony Richardson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Pierce, but Green Bay’s Evan Williams intercepted the ensuing onside kick. The Colts got the ball back at their own 5-yard line with 43 seconds left, but Williams intercepted a Hail Mary attempt from the Indianapolis 41-yard line to end the game.
Richardson completed 17 of 33 passes for 204 yards, but threw three interceptions. He ran for 37 yards on four carries.
Love did not play after injuring his left medial ligament during the final series of a 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil on Sept. 6. It was the first game Love missed since taking over as the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback last year.
His injury forced Willis into action less than three weeks after the Packers acquired him from the Tennessee Titans. Willis had previously made three career starts – all in 2022 – and had not thrown for more than 100 yards in any of them.
Helped by a ground attack that dominated the first half, Willis played an efficient game, completing 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks. Brayden Narveson converted 3 of 4 field goal attempts to account for Green Bay’s other points, and Jacobs had 32 of the Packers’ 53 carries.
Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor ran for 103 yards on 12 attempts but did not touch the ball in the fourth quarter.
The Packers didn’t need Willis to throw the ball much early on, as they ran like mad against the Colts’ porous defense, allowing them to take a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Green Bay gained 164 yards on the run in the first quarter alone, the most by an NFL team in a first quarter since the Denver Broncos gained 167 yards in the opening quarter of their 41-23 loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 18, 2011. By halftime, the Packers had rushed for 237 yards on 34 carries.
Indianapolis was coming off a 29-27 loss to the Houston Texans in which they allowed 213 rushing yards, the most total allowed by a team in the first week of the season.
Green Bay managed 135 yards of rushing through six different ball carriers before finally reaching the positive passing yardage for the game with Wicks’ touchdown.
The score remained 10-0 at halftime because Green Bay missed a chance to take the lead early in the second quarter when Jacobs dropped the ball on first down at the 4-yard line. Zaire Franklin forced the fumble, which Laiatu Latu recovered in the end zone.
Indianapolis’ run defense got stronger in the second half, but the Colts couldn’t quite come back as their offense failed to capitalize on its opportunities.
After Matt Gay had cut the Packers’ lead to 13-3 with a 34-yard field goal with 4:32 minutes left in the third quarter, the Colts advanced to Green Bay’s 30-yard line on their next series with a chance to cut the game to one point.
But on a third-and-1 play early in the fourth quarter, McKinney stopped Trey Sermon for a 4-yard loss. Gay sent a 50-yard attempt wide left on the next play.
Narveson scored his third field goal on Green Bay’s next series, increasing the lead to 16-3.
INJURIES
Colts: DT DeForest Buckner was carried off the field in the third quarter. … Latu left the field in the second half with a hip injury. … The Colts played without S Julian Blackmon (shoulder) and WR Josh Downs (ankle).
Packers: G Jordan Morgan did not play the second half due to a shoulder injury. … RB MarShawn Lloyd injured his ankle.
Next
Colts: Host the Chicago Bears next Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Tennessee Titans next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
