GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In the wake of Malik Willis' second straight win in place of the injured Jordan Love on Sunday, a longtime NFL scout shared this observation:
"Makes you wonder why you pay a quarterback $50 million," the AFC team scout said.
Maybe Packers coach Matt LaFleur should be the one to get a raise given the improbable task of winning two straight games with a quarterback he admittedly knew little about before GM Brian Gutekunst traded a seventh-round pick for him 12 days before the regular-season opener.
"LaFleur is a god for a quarterback," the scout said.
And then there's Gutekunst, who, as it turned out, essentially traded one of the last picks of next year's draft for two wins.
A month ago, Gutekunst had to defend himself not just about the trade for Willis -- who had experienced little or no success after the Tennessee Titans made him a third-round pick in 2022 -- but also that he deemed the past two quarterbacks that he drafted, Sean Clifford (fifth round in 2023) and Michael Pratt (seventh round in 2024), unworthy of the backup job.
At the same time, LaFleur had hoped to have a full year to work with Wills to try to extract the talent that many saw coming out of Liberty University. It explains why LaFleur said after Sunday's 30-14 win over the Titans that "people can't fathom it ... what he's been able to do, I've never seen something like this."
Those who witnessed it from the inside say it was a combination of the gratitude Willis had because Gutekunst wanted him and his ability to comprehend a complex offense in record time. Other factors included the coaching staff's teachings and game plans, combined with a talent-rich locker room that fully threw its support behind the new quarterback.
If Love returns from his sprained left MCL on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. ET, CBS), Willis never plays another down and the Packers have a long playoff run, these past two weeks might be viewed as having saved the season.
"[It] is a testament that he's been working hard and he's been playing his game," Packers defensive end Preston Smith said. "He can make some passes, great passes, and he can run with his feet. When he gets going, it's hard to catch up. You see him in the open field, extending plays with his feet and doing what it takes to get positive plays for offense."
Willis' numbers in two starts might not blow anyone away -- 162 passing yards per game and three touchdowns -- but his efficiency should. He has completed 75.8% of his passes, the third-highest rate among starting quarterbacks during the past two weeks. Only Baltimore's Lamar Jackson has run for more yards (132) among quarterbacks than Willis' 114 yards on 12 carries over that stretch. Five of Willis' 12 runs have been for first downs.
Perhaps more important than any of that is the fact that Willis hasn't turned the ball over. Not a single interception or fumble. He has been sacked only three times.
"Besides penalties, we haven't really had a lot of negative plays," Love said of Willis. "So he's getting the ball out, he's not taking any sacks. He's just avoiding those negative plays, which is able to keep the offense moving, and he's made some big-time throws, he's made some big-time scrambles. He's played at a really high level so far."
On the long flight home from Brazil, where Love was injured in the final seconds of the Week 1 Eagles loss, LaFleur made sure he, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements did something critical to help them get Willis ready to start.
"We were all sleeping," LaFleur said of the offensive brain trust.
They would need to be well-rested to get right to work when they got home.
From Willis' perspective, the key from the coaching staff was constant conversation.
"More than anything, just communication and letting me know what they think through each play and, 'What do you see this for?' or 'How do you see us executing this?' and just communicating it very clearly, how they want me to go out there and play football," Willis said.
It helped to have one of the most respected quarterbacks coaches in Clements, the only person who has coached Love, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre. Clements is a stickler for footwork. It took all of those Packers greats time to master it.
Willis didn't have that luxury.
"It doesn't matter who's in there, he's going to coach everybody the same," Love said of Clements. "He's going to tell you exactly what you need to know. When we go back in there and watch film, if we messed up, he's going to tell you exactly what you need to be doing and sticks to that plan. It doesn't matter who's in.
"But all the coaches, man -- Steno did a great job getting Malik ready. And Malik, I mean, he did a great job preparing through the week of putting in a lot of extra time, just studying the plan and making sure he's dialed in on everything he's doing. He did a lot of work to get himself ready."
Love played a part in that, too.
"It's been great just communicating with him each and every drive and just talking to him," Willis said. "[Saying] 'Hey, what did you see? What did I see out there?' Just compare and contrast. Giving me tips on things he may see. He's been with these players way longer than I have, so understanding there's more than one way to look at this thing. Whatever you can take can be positive."
All this from a quarterback, who when he arrived in Green Bay, had to learn his fourth different offense in his three NFL seasons.
If that doesn't bring any executive of the year votes Gutekunst's way or any coach of the year votes to LaFleur, then what will?
"To go 2-0 without your quarterback is impressive," a different AFC scout said. "It could've been disastrous. This saved them."