After what feels like an eternity since the season opener in Brazil, the Packers are set for their first home game of the 2024 season, as they host the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Here are five things to watch as Green Bay looks to register their first win of the season.

Can Matt LaFleur maximize Malik Willis?

Despite some optimism Jordan Love may make a miraculously quick recovery in time for Sunday, the Packers downgraded their starting quarterback’s game status to ‘doubtful’ as he recovers from the MCL sprain sustained against the Eagles.

That paves the way for backup Malik Willis to take center stage at the home opener, starting for the Packers after being acquired in a trade less than three weeks ago.

It is a tough assignment for Willis, who will be hoping to be helped out by his head coach putting him in favorable positions. LaFleur has history in preparing a backup to start on short notice, but his previous exposure to this situation in Green Bay did not go so well.

When Aaron Rodgers was suddenly scratched from a trip to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs back in 2021 due to contracting COVID-19, Love was thrust into the lineup.

Despite having a few days to prepare, LaFleur did not sufficiently adjust the offensive plan, specifically regarding how they would handle blitzes, and Steve Spagnuolo’s Kansas City defense proceeded to harass Love all game long.

This is something LaFleur still gives himself a hard time over, and hopefully the scar tissue formed by that experience will help him to create a game plan more conducive to helping Willis succeed.

To give the Packers a chance at victory on Sunday, Willis needs to at least be functional and capable of operating the offense. He must avoid spiraling and turning one mistake into several, and crucially, limit turnovers. Willis just has to give Green Bay a chance to win.

Like the QB he will be going up against, he has a big arm and is a threat to run the football, but his limited outings in the NFL to date have been erratic to say the least.

A looming question which could make or break the game for Green Bay: is LaFleur able to weaponize Willis’ athleticism in just a week, incorporating some different plays to the ones they would usually run with Love to present a problem for Indianapolis?

Anthony Richardson splash plays

Calling the shots for the Colts is second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, who in his five career NFL starts has shown flashes of the absurd potential which convinced Indy to draft him with the fourth overall pick a year ago.

After missing most of his rookie year through injury, Richardson posted a bizarre statline in his first appearance of 2024, completing just nine passes from 19 attempts, but still managing 212 yards and two touchdowns.

Among those two scores was a ridiculous 60-yard toss to Alec Pierce, which Richardson launched after initially slipping, with his feet not set and the pocket collapsing around him.

For all the ‘wow’ plays, there are also head-scratching ones. He threw an interception last week among his 10 incompletions, and Richardson has moments of real eyebrow-raising inaccuracy.

But there is no doubting his ability to produce game-breaking moments with both his arm and his legs, and the Packers defense has already shown a propensity to allow big plays – as was somewhat expected – under new coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Richardson presents a relatively similar threat to that of Jalen Hurts, whom the Packers faced in week one. In that game, Green Bay’s defensive front managed to mostly contain Hurts’ running ability, but were burned a few times by explosive passing plays.

The balance of Hafley’s risk-reward style of defense could take some time to reach equilibrium, and his unit will face another test in that regard on Sunday.

Tight end snap share

One of the shocks of week one was the vast difference in snaps between their tight ends. Tucker Kraft played 64 snaps, while Luke Musgrave, who was selected a round higher than Kraft in last year’s draft, played just 17.

Kraft kicked on while Musgrave missed time with a lacerated kidney at the end of last season, and the reports from training camp were glowing about Kraft and described a quiet summer for Musgrave.

It can also be argued Kraft is simply the more well-rounded player, specifically offering more as a blocker and after the catch, so it should not be too much of a surprise Kraft has moved ahead, but the sheer gap between the two in snap share was unexpected.

When asked about the snap share this week, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said: “We definitely don’t want that. We’d like to have it a little more even”.

Musgrave has the valuable ability to stretch the seam from the tight end position, and there will undoubtedly be games where he is more prominently involved in the game plan.

This week’s game will provide another glimpse into where the young tight ends stand, but for now, it appears Kraft has established himself at TE1.

Colts depleted secondary

Outside of stellar slot defender Kenny Moore II, the Colts are not blessed in the secondary, and that was before Julian Blackmon was confirmed to be missing this game with a shoulder injury, and JuJu Brents was ruled out for the year with a knee.

It remains to be seen whether Green Bay will have good enough play at quarterback to take advantage of Indy’s relatively weak defensive backs, but whoever is throwing the ball will certainly have enough weapons at his disposal to do some damage.

The lack of quality and depth on the back end could put the Colts in a bind defensively. They were steamrolled on the ground by Joe Mixon and the Texans last week, and in an ideal world would like to make a concerted effort to stop the run this time around.

Bringing extra players down into the box in an attempt to nullify Josh Jacobs would be daring the Packers to pass, and with Willis under center, that could be a viable plan, especially given the quarterback’s ability to run the ball himself.

However, it could make life much easier on Willis in the passing game if he has more favorable matchups on the outside, on top of a gaggle of talented pass catchers to pick out.

Will Evan Williams make his debut?

In Green Bay’s secondary, it was puzzling to see Evan Williams not play a single snap of defense against Philadelphia after impressing during training camp and preseason.

Defensive coordinator Hafley was quizzed about Williams’ absence, he admitted the rookie fourth-rounder: “deserves to play”, and said that he had a good week of practice.

Hafley added: “I would anticipate Evan having a role going forward. We need to get 33 on the field”.

The specifics of that role will become clear soon enough, but the Packers could certainly benefit from Williams’ football IQ, energy, and ball skills on defense.