The Green Bay Packers dropped their preseason opener to the Houston Texans by a final score of 26-7 on Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
Wins and losses don’t really matter during the preseason, especially considering the Packers sat 30 veteran players against the Texans. Individual performances, however, will help shape the roster for Matt LaFleur’s team entering 2021.
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst performers from the Packers’ preseason opener:
Top 5 offense
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1. OL Royce Newman, 83.6 2. WR Malik Taylor, 81.0 3. WR Devin Funchess, 77.0 4. LT Yosh Nijman, 72.5 5. QB Jordan Love, 72.4 Newman, a fourth-round pick, played the entire second half at right guard and was impressive as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker. He could still make a run at a starting job. Taylor caught five passes, including one contested catch and another converting a third down, and he was terrific as a run-blocker. Funchess hauled in a game-high six passes for 70 yards, including three gaining first downs. He averaged over 3.0 yards per route run. A surprise here. Nijman gave up a strip-sack in the first half, but he was otherwise solid over 54 snaps. He played the entire game at left tackle. Love completed over 70 percent of his passes, didn’t have a turnover-worthy throw and connected on 3-of-5 attempts over 10 yards.
Top 5 defense
. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
1. CB Kabion Ento, 82.4 2. S Henry Black, 76.2 3. LB Ty Summers, 75.8 4. LB Oren Burks, 75.0 5. LB Ray Wilborn, 74.3 Ento led all cornerbacks in coverage snaps and had an impressive interception to end the first half. He’s making a real run at a roster spot. Black was all over the field, delivering a stop on defense and a tackle on special teams. Summers delivered four tackles, including three considered “stops,” or a tackle constituting a failure for the offense. He received strong run defense grades. Burks was the team’s highest-graded run defender and pass-rusher. He finished with three stops and two pressures, including a sack. Wilborn played mostly in the second half, delivering three tackles (one stop) without giving a completion.
Bottom 5 offense
Houston Texans defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson (91) recovers a fumble against Green Bay Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert (7) and offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen (78) during their football game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
1. QB Kurt Benkert, 54.1 2. TE Isaac Nauta, 53.6 3. WR Amari Rodgers, 52.8 4. RB Patrick Taylor, 49.8 5. OL Lucas Patrick, 44.9 Benkert lost a fumble and threw a bad interception, giving him two turnovers in 26 snaps. Nauta had one strong pass-blocking snap but was otherwise below average in the run game. Rodgers, in his NFL debut, caught three short passes despite running 20 routes. He also missed an opportunity to convert the first third down of the contest. His average depth of target was 1.8 yards. Taylor got dinged hard for giving up a pressure in pass protection, a no-no for running backs. Patrick, who played the entire first half, received the worst run-blocking grade on the team. He also gave up one pressure.
Bottom 5 defense
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
1. LB De’Jon Harris, 54.2 2. CB Dominique Martin, 51.0 3. CB Ka’dar Hollman, 46.8 4. DL Tyler Lancaster, 44.7 5. DL Josh Avery, 35.9 Harris, Lancaster and Avery all received poor grades against the run. Martin missed a tackle on a touchdown run from Darius Jackson, and Hollman was penalized in coverage.
Special teams, other notables
(AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
– Henry Black led the team in special teams grade and special teams tackles. – Shemar Jean-Charles and Hunter Bradley missed tackles on special teams. – Cornerback Josh Jackson gave up seven catches on 10 targets for 91 yards. – Rookie Kylin Hill received strong grades over three pass protection snaps. – The Packers gained 47 of their 49 rushing yards after contact, highlighting how poor the run blocking was for most of the night. – Outside linebacker Chauncey Rivers had two pressures and two run stops. Outside linebacker Delontae Scott had a team-high four stops.
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