A backup quarterback beat his former team — and former rival. Then, he thanked God

Malik Willis is a surprise star of the early weeks of the NFL season after winning two games in a row with the Green Bay Packers.
But the quarterback is doing his best to redirect the spotlight from him onto God by repeatedly talking about his Christian faith in interviews and on social media.
Here’s what Willis has said about faith and football so far this season.
As the end of the NFL preseason approached the future looked bleak for Willis.
He’d lost the Tennessee Titans’ starting role to Will Levis and done little to shake his reputation as a confused, unconfident ball handler.
The Titans dealt him to the Green Bay Packers for a 2025 seventh-round pick, and he became the backup to one of the NFL’s biggest — and best paid — young stars, Jordan Love. He was prepared to spend the 2024 NFL season riding the bench.
But then, Love tweaked his MCL during a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers put their confidence in Willis to lead them during Love’s absence, despite the fact that he’d had less than two weeks with his new playbook.
Two games into Willis’ tenure as the Packers’ starting quarterback, it appears the team made the right decision.
Willis has led Green Bay to two-straight wins and, on Sunday against his former team, the Titans, the quarterback was the Packers’ leading rusher.
“I just cannot articulate the job that he’s done in this short period of time,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said after Sunday’s win against the Titans, per NFL.com. “People can’t fathom it. I promise you, you guys don’t get it. I know you think you got it, but you don’t get it.
“What he’s been able to do, I’ve never seen something like this.”
When asked to reflect on his surprising achievements, Willis has repeatedly tried to shift reporters’ and fans’ focus off himself and onto God.
“I just got to give all the praise, honor and glory to God for giving me another (opportunity.) … Getting to play this game at this level is nothing more than a blessing,” Willis told Fox after Sunday’s Packers-Titans game.
The quarterback later shared a similar message on X.
“All the honor, glory, and praise to God for another opportunity to glorify Him. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13,” Willis wrote on Sunday.
Willis’ recent comments shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who followed his college career.
After starting at Auburn, Willis played for Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia.
While at Liberty, Willis spoke often about how his faith grounded him amid the highs and lows of a football career.
“I feel like I was blessed with this ability and this platform to bring people to Him. That’s what we were put on Earth to do, to point others to God,” he said three years ago.
Willis’ bio on X starts with the phrase “Glory to God,” and his pinned post reads, “TGFE — Thank God for everything.”
During his postgame interview with Fox on Sunday, Willis once again pointed people to God when asked if he had a message for others waiting for their opportunity to succeed on a big stage.
“Just keep working hard and keep God first,” Willis said.