Jordan Love does not practice

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With a big matchup against the Detroit Lions looming, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love missed practice on Wednesday.

Love was among a large group of starters who worked out on the weight equipment while the rest of the team went through warm-ups at the Don Hutson Center. When the players went to practice, Love and the injured starters stayed inside to work with the coach.

Malik Willis and Sean Clifford passed passes during individual drills in front of reporters.

Love missed most of the second half of Sunday’s win at Jacksonville with a groin injury he suffered during the first series.

Given the scale of the game – a chance to move into first place in the NFC North – there’s no doubt that Love and the Packers (6-2) hope to make it against the first-place Lions (6-1). On the other hand, with next week’s bye, Love will be at full strength – or closer to full strength – for the stretch run that begins Nov. 17 at the home stadium of the rival Chicago Bears.

“Yes, if he can go, he will,” coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. “We’ll see where he is at the end of the week. However, if we feel that he is unable to protect himself, we certainly would not put him in that situation.

Love isn’t the only injured player to watch this week. Linebacker Quay Walker (concussion) did not play against Jacksonville, safety Evan Williams (hamstring) missed most of the game and cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) was injured on the final defensive snap.

Walker practiced, but Alexander and Williams were among the group of starters who didn’t.

After a short break on the third play of the third quarter in Jacksonville, Love collided with Travon Walker. It didn’t seem like much contact, but Love was shaken and tried to limp out of the way.

At this point, it was clear that Love was no longer able to protect himself.

“I just thought it was a pretty gutsy performance,” coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. “He definitely suffered in his ability to move and play the ball. I just thought it was a tough, rough performance.

The Packers got Malik Willis. Willis wasn’t asked to do much, but he delivered when needed. He was 3-of-4 passing for 5 yards before his huge 51-yard scoring strike to Jayden Reed provided the game-winning score. He also had a 20-yard kickoff, leading up to Josh Jacobs’ 38-yard touchdown run.

After winning starts against the Colts and Titans and then a win against the Jaguars, the Packers have confidence in Willis should he be pressed into service.

“This moment is not very important to him,” LaFleur said. “I don’t think that’s the case for everyone. It looks like his heart is beating, but it remains fairly coherent. Obviously he made some big plays in that game and I also think the belief that the team has in him and his ability to lead us is quite evident when you watch us play.

Playing without defensive stalwart Aidan Hutchinson, who is sidelined with a broken leg, the Lions made just one run last week, beating the Titans 52-14. Hutchinson has missed the last two games, but still ranks third in the NFL in quarterback hits and first in quarterback hits. No one else has more than 2.5 sacks.

The lack of pressure from the Lions could give the Packers confidence that they can protect Love.

“There are other ways to apply pressure. Would you like some more? Yeah, we would like a little bit more,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday. “I wouldn’t say we’re panicking.”

“It doesn’t matter what record you have,” he added. “The idea is, how do you cover up some of your shortcomings? That’s the name of the game. We’re talking about Hutch, we won’t be able to replace her, but there are other things we can do. You need to put more load on your backend and that’s what you need to do. We did it and they rose to the challenge. Was it perfect? No, but we do takeaway, which is huge.”

The Lions and Packers are tied for second in the NFL with 10 interceptions, and Detroit is behind only Green Bay with 15.

Against the Jaguars, Love had a league-worst ninth interception, and his streak of two-plus-touchdown passing games was snapped at nine.

LaFleur said the injury wasn’t an issue during the interception.

“I thought the guy shot the ball really well,” LaFleur said of rookie guard Jarrian James. “There are definitely some things we could have done a little better. Especially when people are crouching on routes, I often put that on us as coaches as well, in terms of whether we can get them to play better so that people don’t do that.

“I thought Jones did a nice job of sitting off the lever and just winning. It’s a play we ran a lot, so I’m sure he was able to anticipate it, and that’s how you make plays. So you have to admit that he played a good match. I just told Jordan that if you feel like someone is running it, make sure you throw the ball where only our player can catch it. But he did a good job undercutting that route.

More Green Bay Packers news

Packers-Lions matchups | Packers sign former first-round pick | Our consensus NFL power rankings | You play to win the game | The defense needs to rebound against the prolific Lions | Five Packers overreactions | Latest Packers injury updates | Josh Jacobs took over in the game against the Jaguars | Packers-Jaguars Report Card | Inside the winning ending | Brian Gutekunst’s latest moves win the game