So much for the preliminaries….
It was kind of a strange day, with a heavy cloud cover and even a light mist early but the skies broke and the sun was shining brightly as the Packers finished the Preseason with a Lambeau Field matinee, beating the Seattle Seahawks 19-15 before 72,105 fans.
Jordan Love and the starting offense produced a field goal on their opening drive, ran their two minute offense on Love’s third series into the second quarter that finished with a pretty back shoulder, six yard touchdown strike to Christian Watson. The Seahawks finally got on the board with 2:46 left in the half with backup Drew Lock hitting Jake Bobo behind Innis Gaines on a 28 yard corner route. Sean Clifford ran his own two minute drill that ended with Anders Carlson drilling a 57 yard field goal with :14 left in the quarter for a 12-7 lead at the break.
The third quarter was a struggle with both defenses dominating, resulting in seven consecutive punts. When Emmanuel Wilson couldn’t convert a 4th and 2, Seattle was able to drive 89 yards in 10 plays for the lead as SaRodorick Thompson scored from the one. He would also catch a two point conversion to make it 15-12 game with 6:38 to play. Third string quarterback Alex McGough hit Jadakis Bonds on a 52 yard go route up the left sideline to set up Nate McCrary’s one yard touchdown run just inside the two minute warning. Seattle drove to the Green Bay 12 where on third down, third string QB Holton Ahlers tried to squeeze pass in the middle of the end zone where Benny Sapp III picked it off and ran out to the 10 before getting mobbed by his teammates as the game was sealed.
The Packers finished with two wins in three games and afterward, Head Coach Matt LaFleur was all smiles:
Let’s narrow down the assessment of the contest and the completion of training camp by either name or position group.
Jordan Love – He looks ready for the task. In six series over three games, Love completed 21 of 33 passes for 193 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scrambled five times for 32 yards. He even caught a pass today. On the game’s second series, he had a ball batted back to him and he pulled it down, losing two yards on the play leading to his only scoreless series. He did miss an opportunity for a 48 yard touchdown to Watson however. Christian had the defensive back beat by several steps but the ball was slightly underthrown and allowed the defender to recover for a break up. LaFleur said his command of the offense and his handling of the huddle has been on point all summer.
The Wide Receivers – Romeo Doubs sat out the game with a slight hamstring pull, LaFleur doesn’t sound too concerned. Watson and Jayden Reed round out the top three. The breakout star of camp was Mississippi free agent Malik Heath. His play in camp earned him a spot in the starting lineup against the Seahawks and he was so nervous, he had a false start penalty on the game’s opening snap. But once again, he led the club with 4 receptions for 35 yards and appears to have moved past the other two draft picks this year, Dontayvion Wicks and Grant Dubose and perhaps put last year’s draft choice Samori Toure’s roster spot in jeopardy. It was nice to see the long shot Bonds deliver a big play, he had a couple in the final week of camp at practice as well.
Emmanuel Wilson – He turned out to be the NFL’s Preseason rushing leader with a whopping 38 carries for 283 yards, yet he’ll be hard pressed to make the team. Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon played very sparingly and Patrick Taylor looks like the leading candidate for RB3 but the undrafted rookie free agent from Fort Valley State could be a find worth developing.
The Offensvie Line – This is what the starting five should like in Chicago on September 10, David Bakhtiari (although he sat out today’s game), Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan and Zach Tom. Both Runyan and Tom even took turns at center today. Rasheed Walker has moved ahead of Yosh Nijman as the primary backup at tackle. Royce Newman may be in trouble after a couple of penalties today and the emergence of last year’s forgotten third rounder Sean Rhyan. The depth is impressive here as the unit allowed just one sack in the three games and the Packers put up 164 yards rushing on 45 carries against Seattle.
The Defense – Even without Jaire Alexander and De’Vondre Campbell, the unit is playing strong football. Isaiah McDuffie, starting for Campbell, made impressive chase down plays early. Carrington Valentine probably should have had a pick six in the first half but his hands robbed him. Up until the two fourth quarter drives by Seattle, the defense held the Seahawks to five first downs and 127 total yards.
Anders Carlson – Sure the rookie has had some misses, a blocked extra point today wasn’t on him as an edge rusher came clean. The Packers were ready to punt before halftime until an offsides penalty moved them five yards closer. Carlson calmly delivered a rocket, into a decent north breeze over the top of the stadium, and the 57 yarder had plenty to spare. The leg strength and potential is there.
Now comes the hard part for General Manager Brian Gutekunst. He’ll have to cut the roster to 53 by Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 PM. By Wednesday at noon, he’ll have a 16 player practice squad assembled. Gutekunst has collected a very interesting group of athletic and enthusiastic players and one Pro Bowl veteran I talked to after the game is relishing the notion that this might be a difficult transition season. He said simply, “look out”. That closeness was never more evident than in the free agent locker room after the game, some call it the “Green Mile” room. The undrafted free agents fill up the cramped space just off the main locker room for veterans and draft picks. Yet here was the media, swarming inside that room to talk to the likes of Heath, Wilson, McGough and Sapp who had to wait a minute or two for his interview because all of the others who spent the whole summer in that tiny room were yelling and shouting his name to celebrate the interception that finished the Preseason and demonstrated just how much these players, many of whom won’t be there come Tuesday, care and root for each other.
We’re on to Chicago and the 2023 season.
