The Green Bay Packers used another dominant performance along the line of scrimmage and a handful of big plays from a re-tooled offense to win a second consecutive game with Malik Willis under center. Sunday’s 30-14 road victory over the Tennessee Titans improved the Packers to 2-1 through three weeks.
Considering the Packers tallied eight sacks and three takeaways, it’s hardly surprising that a number of standout individual performances came from the defensive side of the football.
Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ Week 3 win over the Titans:
Stars
CB Jaire Alexander: His pick-six turned the game on its head late in the first quarter. With eyes on the quarterback, Alexander reacted in a flash, made the catch with arms extended and high-stepped into the end zone for six. He also helped shut down No. 1 receiver Calvin Ridley, who caught only one pass on three targets, and he made four tackles without a miss.
QB Malik Willis: Less than a month after the Titans traded him away for next to nothing, Willis returned to Tennessee and was nearly perfect in a devastating takedown of his former team. He scored a pair of touchdowns, led five scoring drives, produced 275 total yards, averaged 10.6 yards per attempt and 12.2 per rush. Three times in the first half, Willis hit receivers for big plays on third downs from the pocket. He also used his legs to both escape the pocket and hurt the Titans on read options. Willis set career highs for passing yards and rushing yards. His passer rating was over 120.0 for the second consecutive start.
DE Kingsley Enagbare: His strip-sack of Will Levis was an important play. With the Packers up 13 and the Titans driving, Enagbare cleanly beat the right tackle with an inside move and stripped Levis, creating a game-turning takeaway. On one fourth quarter drive, Enagbare stuffed Tony Pollard after a short gain and then combined with Edgerrin Cooper for a drive-ending sack on third down. He played only 22 snaps but almost single-handedly killed two Titans drives in the second half.
Studs
RB Emanuel Wilson: His 85 total yards were a career-high, and he scored his first NFL touchdown on a well-devised and executed screen pass. He created two explosive plays, made defenders miss between the tackles and was excellent in pass protection. On one snap in the first half, Wilson moved to his right across the formation and blocked the blitzing linebacker, allowing Willis to escape the pocket and scramble for a first down.
DL Devonte Wyatt: The 2022 first-round pick is becoming a consistent disruptive force. He had a run stuff of Tony Pollard on the first drive and a sack of Will Levis on the opening drive of the second half. Later, he teamed up with Enagbare on a run stop on first down and then sacked Levis on second down, helping ruin a drive. He finished with three pressures and three stops.
WR Christian Watson: He won a contested catch for 30 yards on a slot fade, converting 3rd-and-6 on the first drive and setting up a touchdown. Later, his speed on a deep over route provided a throwing window for a 37-yard completion on third-and-long, setting up a field goal. Big plays from Watson helped create 10 points. Like usual, he gave maximum effort as a blocker.
S Xavier McKinney: He made a tackle covering a kickoff, a run stop of Tony Pollard and the game-sealing interception ranging to his right from a single-high alignment. His consistency in doing a variety of things in coverage is a big reason why the Packers have been so disruptive on defense to start the 2024 season. Jeff Hafley uses him as a chess piece to clutter the look pre-snap.
Duds
DL Kenny Clark: The Packers need more from their recently paid interior defender. He accomplished little as a pass-rusher despite good matchups and once again had issues in the run game. It’s been a quiet, ineffective start to 2024 through three games for Clark.
LT Rasheed Walker: His penalty fest to start the 2024 season continued. On the final drive of the first half, Walker had a 10-yard holding penalty and 10-yard illegal hands to the face penalty. Thanks to big third-down plays from Malik Willis, the Packers overcame both infractions and kicked a short field goal. Walker was solid against Arden Key in the passing game, however.
TE Luke Musgrave: He lacks punch both inline and as a move blocker in the run game, especially when contrasted with what Tucker Kraft brings as a blocker. In terms of movement and physicality, he too often looks like a big receiver. The Packers must find better ways of unlocking his playmaking ability in the passing game — he has two catches on four targets for nine yards through three games.
LS Matt Orzech: He missed a tackle while covering a punt return, and his high snap contributed to a missed field goal, although the miss from Brayden Narveson was negated by a penalty.
