The Green Bay Packers lost 41-24 to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night at Lambeau Field, but there were few bright spots for the team.
Sifting through the rubble: Malik Willis has been outstanding, Willis and Christian Watson provide explosive connections, and the two most recent first-round picks have impressed at key positions.
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the rest? Bury it and move on.
Here are four standouts from Week 17:
QB Malik Willis
In a showcase game, Willis was nearly flawless, making a series of explosive plays to keep the Packers in the game, both as a passer and as a runner. Willis completed his first 11 passes, completing 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards, averaging 13.7 yards per carry and 15.6 yards per completion. He had seven passes for at least 22 yards and four different players had catches of at least 30 yards. Willis also rushed for 60 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown run and an engineered 11-yard touchdown run, as well as an incredible 12-yard rush on 3rd and 9. Willis finished with 348 yards and three touchdowns. Alas, the Packers botched a drive, couldn’t get a stop on defense, and then suffered even worse injury luck when Willis exited on a drive in the fourth quarter. An incredible night for the Packers backup quarterback could be truly special.
malik willis crow
WR Christian Watson
Watson continued his improbable comeback from an ACL injury on Saturday night, catching five passes for 113 yards and a 39-yard touchdown. He became the Packers’ first receiver with over 100 yards receiving this season and had a team-high third receiving touchdown of at least 30 yards. Incredibly, Watson caused all of this damage despite running only 19 routes. His speed can be overwhelming at times, especially on outside breakout routes. He also set up the Packers’ opening scoring drive while running up the seam, splitting two safeties, and made the right adjustments in scrimmage situations, breaking out and making an explosive play down the field when Malik Willis avoided a sack.
De Lucas Van Ness
Van Ness was arguably the only positive player on a disastrous night for the Packers defense. He generated three pressures, including a dominant rep on the edge that led to a third down, and another where he beat a double team inside and helped force an incompletion in the red zone. Van Ness was lively and physical against the run, and his highlight came after a brief gain when he snaked down a pull block to bring down Derrick Henry. He also hit an edge blocker and knocked down Tyler Huntley on a designed goal. Van Ness led the offense with five sacks or one tackle.
RT Jordan Morgan
The 2024 first-round pick also had encouraging performances at right tackle. In fact, Saturday night might have been Morgan’s best NFL game in two years. He allowed just one rush in 34 pass-blocking snaps and was impactful as a run blocker. Surprisingly, Morgan looked much better on the edge at offensive tackle (his natural position) than at inside linebacker. Don’t be surprised if Morgan gets a chance to play left tackle in Minnesota’s season finale.
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Malik Willis’ great game against Ravens
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Malik Willis and 3 other players who performed well in Packers’ Week 17 loss to Ravens