GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ third preseason game was a big one for general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur as they work on the roster and the depth chart for the regular season.
In terms of the state of the team, and the outlook for the Sept. 11 opener at the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday night’s 17-10 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs meant absolutely nothing.
The offense’s struggles? Irrelevant with Jordan Love at quarterback instead of Aaron Rodgers, Tyler Goodson and Patrick Taylor instead of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon at running back, and Yosh Nijman and Royce Newman at offensive tackle instead of, potentially, David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins.
The defense’s mediocre play? Irrelevant with only rookie Quay Walker on the field among the team’s starters and the likes of Rashan Gary, De’Vondre Campbell and Jaire Alexander in street clothes.
Another poor performance by the special teams? Irrelevant with a lot of players who won’t be on the roster playing key roles.
The Packers had two chances to rally late in the game. First, defensively, defensive tackle Jack Heflin forced a fumble but outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare lost the race for the loose ball. The Packers forced a punt, though, and Danny Etling took possession at the 20 with 3:55 remaining.
Completions of 11 yards to tight end Sal Cannella and 14 yards to Samori Toure moved the ball to the Chiefs’ 26 with about a minute to go. However, on fourth-and-3 with 36 seconds remaining, Etling’s pass to Toure fell incomplete; it appeared defensive back Devon Key hit Toure early but no flag was thrown.
Tight end Matthew Bushman scored both touchdowns for the Chiefs.
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Love started and played the first three quarters, going 16-of-26 for 148 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. In three games, he threw three touchdowns vs. four picks and compiled a 63.9 rating.
“He’s definitely playing with a lot of confidence,” coach Matt LaFleur told the Packers TV Network at halftime. “I think he weathered the storm early. He’s just so much more mentally tough. He’s decisive out there. He’s hung in there and he’s made some plays for us.”
While the numbers weren’t great, he played behind a mishmash offensive line and had to rely on a bunch of young backups at the skill positions.
“He’s done just the little things that are helping him to continue to level up every single week he’s out there,” Rodgers said during an in-game interview. “He’s playing with a lot of guys that may not make the squad, so you’ve got to have that perspective when you’re out there. It’s preseason and anything can happen. As far as decision-making and footwork, we’ve seen a lot of good improvement from him.”
Playing the last 15:13, Etling was 10-of-13 for 97 yards and was sacked twice.
The teams battled to a 10-all draw at halftime. Love was 13-of-21 passing for 125 yards. When he could throw the ball in rhythm, he was accurate. When he had to extend the play, he wasn’t quite as effective.
Green Bay took a 7-3 lead on an electric 23-yard touchdown run by Tyler Goodson. Josh Myers had the big block, and Goodson did the rest by running through one tackle and spinning away from another.
“The one thing about him is the way he’s finishing runs,” LaFleur said. “That’s something that we’ve been looking for from him.”
Late in the half, Green Bay tied the game at 10 on Ramiz Ahmed’s 23-yard field goal. Love completed passes of 19 yards to Samori Toure and 15 yards to Amari Rodgers before a 23-yard strike to Toure set up a first-and-goal at the 1. A false start on right guard Jake Hanson and an illegal formation on either Rodgers or Juwann Winfree were too much to overcome.
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August 26, 2022 at 09:55AM
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Packers Lose to Chiefs in Preseason Finale - Sports Illustrated
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