CHICAGO – It's just an absolute shame Malik Willis' last play on Saturday night was that fumbled snap.
Because the Packers' super sub at quarterback had done everything in his power, and done it incredibly well, to give his team what should've been an uplifting victory Saturday night at Soldier Field.
Instead, after the defense and special teams combined to squander a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, Willis and center Sean Rhyan weren't clean on a fourth-and-1 snap at the Chicago 36-yard line.
The botched play gave the Packers no chance to convert to keep the opening drive of overtime alive, and four plays later they were walking off the field with an unthinkable 22-16 loss.
After the game, Willis took the blame for the botched play, saying he changed the cadence because the play clock was running down, and it wasn't clearly communicated to Rhyan.
"If I'm going to do something like that, I should preface it in the huddle before we get in that situation," he said. "So I can't blame him for not expecting it. I can't blame anybody, it was on me. I have to communicate and make sure we're all on the same page. That's my job."
It was noble of him to fall on his sword, but he shouldn't have had to.
After winning three games in place of franchise QB Jordan Love last season, Willis hadn't seen much meaningful action this year until called to duty in the second quarter with first place in the NFC North on the line.
Love took a helmet-to-helmet shot on a sack by Austin Booker, his second roughing the passer call in the first quarter and a half, and was diagnosed with a concussion, ending Love's night.
All Willis did was play brilliantly, and flawlessly until his last snap, in throwing for 121 yards, rushing for 44 more, and posting a 142.8 passer rating on limited throws (9-of-11, one TD).
"I thought Malik went in there and did a helluva job," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "He was poised, made some plays with his legs, made some plays with his arm, made some off-schedule plays.
"I thought the operation was pretty smooth for the most part, but not enough at the end obviously."
Willis' composure and efficiency shouldn't have been a surprise given how he played last year in Love's stead. But the magnitude of this game was bigger than any he'd played in with the Packers to date, the windy conditions weren't ideal, and he'd been riding pretty much all season except for a brief appearance over a month ago against the Giants, when he led a TD drive while Love had a shoulder injury checked out.
Had Romeo Doubs been able to recover the onside kick with just under two minutes left, Willis would've needed just one first down to run out the clock on a monster victory.
Instead, through no fault of his own, he had to answer questions about his one bad play at the wrong time.
"It's unfortunate," Willis said. "I mean, you take it one play at a time, and that play ultimately, it decided the game. It didn't give us a chance to get points. It didn't give us a chance to help the defense out and keep them over there on the sideline, let them rest up and get ready for their final drive.
"It kind of flipped the game on its head."
That's certainly taking too much blame on his part given everything else that transpired, but he gave a pretty good summation of the locker room afterward. He was describing himself just as much, except he shows no outward emotion, a trait that serves him quite well in a difficult job.
"When you put so much effort and care into what you do and you care about it so much, it's more angry and disappointed," he said. "Because you give everything you got, and in this league, everybody's good enough. You make a couple mistakes and the game could go the way that you don't want it to go."
How soon Love can return from the concussion isn't known. It's possible the Packers could need Willis again next Saturday night as they're now fighting to make the postseason.
Green Bay needs to win its last two games, or win one and have Detroit lose one, in order to secure a playoff spot.
"I know that this season is not over," Willis said. "We can't change what's happened, and just got to continue to keep going."
Willis was even asked about a potential third game against the Bears, meaning a postseason meeting. In his typical style, he played it straight.
"I think we're going to take it one week at a time, and we've got to make it first," he said. "We have to finish out the season the right way."
