Two weeks ago, the Green Bay Packers were in a prime position to usurp the Chicago Bears and take the NFC North crown away from their divisional rival.
Now, after a crushing home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, they will have to either travel to Chicago, Philadelphia, or the winner of the uber-competitive NFC West during the first weekend of the playoffs.
It was a night when, at times, it seemed destined for the Packers to overcome a deficit and win the game, keeping their division title hopes alive. Malik Willis played the best game of his young career, starting in the place of Jordan Love, who was out with a concussion.
Willis went for 288 yards through the air with one touchdown on 18/21 passes thrown. His efficiency and playmaking ability were on full display on Saturday, as the Ravens seemingly couldn’t stop him in the second half before he left the game with a shoulder injury, which he got looked at in the locker room.
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Although he appeared fine coming out to rejoin the time on the sideline, the damage was already done. With Willis out, third-string QB Clayton Tune threw his first pass of the season, and it was tipped into the hands of a welcoming Ravens defender.
A free agent at the end of the season, Willis’ performance under the bright lights might have made him a lead candidate for teams desperately searching for a young franchise quarterback without looking towards a shallow QB draft in April.
For the Packers, now 9-6-1, they’re locked into the bottom of the NFC standings and are at the mercy of who they will play as the No. 2 seed in the wildcard round. Green Bay will hope to repeat what they did two years ago, when, as the No. 7 seed, they traveled to Dallas and blew out the Cowboys in the first round.
The Packers will finish their regular season in Week 18 on the road against the Minnesota Vikings.
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