NASHVILLE, Tenn. — — A change of scenery and an injury gave Malik Willis a great opportunity to show what he can do in the NFL.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said people simply can’t imagine what the quarterback has accomplished in less than a month with the Packers in his third year.

Willis scored a touchdown and drove in a run in his career-best performance as a pro, leading the Packers to a 30-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

“What he’s been able to do is, I’ve never seen anything like it,” LaFleur said of Willis, who was acquired in a trade in late August. “So hats off to him. Hats off to everybody around him. Guys that rallied and supported him.”

Not only did Willis win his second straight start in relief of Jordan Love, he also got some sweet revenge against the team that traded him to Green Bay (2-1). Willis accounted for 134 of the Packers’ 137 yards in the first quarter. He finished with 202 yards passing and 73 rushing.

He started three games as a rookie for Tennessee in 2022 after being a third-round pick by Liberty under a general manager who was fired in December. Willis said he just kept working to be ready if the opportunity arose again.

“You don’t know when the opportunity will come, but when it does, you have to be ready for it,” Willis said.

The Packers gave Willis enough help to improve his mark as starting quarterback to 3-2.

Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander scored a touchdown on his first career pick-6 late in the first quarter, helping Green Bay lead 17-7 after 15 minutes and 20-7 at the break. The Packers eventually scored 20 straight points for a 27-7 lead midway through the third quarter, prompting a loud chant of “Go, Pack, Go!”

The Packers had eight sacks, the most since they recorded eight in Chicago on Jan. 2, 2005. They also forced three turnovers.

“Oh my god, they went crazy,” Willis said. “That was awesome. Eight sacks, right? Oh my god. That was awesome. They won the game for us.”

Green Bay receiver Christian Watson, one of seven players who caught at least one pass, said Willis likely won’t view this as a revenge game since he’s been out for less than a month.

“I want him to be able to go out there and win this thing, given his situation,” Watson said. “I know he’s always going to be humble.”

First-year coach Brian Callahan has given the Titans (0-3) their worst start since they lost their first six games in 2009. Tennessee, which acquired a seventh-round pick for Willis, has lost 21 of 27 games overall. Callahan said he hasn’t done a good enough job.

“It’s embarrassing and disappointing,” Callahan said. “I need to be a lot better than I’ve been, and this is frustrating and unfortunate and not what I thought we could do to start the season.”

Green Bay ruled Love out of the game, giving him another week to recover from a sprained left knee. Willis, with LaFleur’s play-calling, kept the Packers out of trouble. The quarterback showed the Titans what they gave up when they kept Will Levis as the starter and Mason Rudolph as the backup.

Levis threw two touchdown passes, one to Nick Vannett and the other to DeAndre Hopkins.

The 33rd overall pick in 2023 out of Kentucky has eight turnovers in three games, including two interceptions that were returned for TDs. When Callahan took a timeout and sent the offense back to the punt team, Levis was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-2 to start the third quarter.

Tennessee’s defense forced the first three-and-out after Hopkins’ TD cut the Titans to 27-14. Levis drove the Titans to the Green Bay 31, but was sacked two plays later by Kingsley Enagbare. Lukas Van Ness recovered the fumble near midfield.

That sent Titans fans flocking to the exit on a sultry afternoon.

Picky packers

Green Bay entered the game leading the NFL with five interceptions and six takeaways. Now the Packers have seven interceptions through three games, matching their total for all of 2023. Xavier McKinney had the other interception in the final minutes.

Marking problems

LaFleur was not happy about his Packers being flagged 10 times for 75 yards. But he praised his receivers for patiently blocking instead of looking for passes for a second straight game. Green Bay ran 37 times and threw 19 passes. A week earlier, the Packers had 53 rushing attempts.

Injuries

Packers: TE Tucker Kraft aggravated a shoulder injury that limited his practice.

Titans: CB Chidobe Awuzie injured a groin muscle early on and did not return. S Amani Hooker came off the field with something on his right temple at the two-minute warning and did not return.

Next

Packers: Host Minnesota next Sunday.

Titans: Visit Miami and another backup quarterback in primetime on Monday, September 30.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL