Winners and losers of the Packers’ victory over the Browns

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin – The Green Bay Packers beat the Cleveland Browns 23-10 on Saturday. But in preseason games, team success is less important than the performance of individual players.

From that perspective, here are Saturday’s winners and losers.

QB Jordan Love

The play of the game was Love’s touchdown bomb to Dontayvion Wicks.

Last season, Love led the NFL with 81 passes of 20 or more yards. Of the 35 quarterbacks with at least 25 long pass attempts, Love ranked 15th in completion percentage, 16th in yards per attempt and 16th in passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus.

So Love was OK at this stage of the game, but not great. He was much better during training camp, and the one pass he threw on Saturday was perfect. Love looked like he was a safety, and the accuracy couldn’t have been better if the ball had fallen right into Wicks’ hands.

RB Emanuel Wilson

Wilson entered training camp on the waiting list with Josh Jacobs, AJ Dillon and third-round rookie MarShawn Lloyd. However, Wilson was quick to remind everyone that he is a true NFL runner.

After leading the NFL preseason in rushing last year, Wilson ran 13 times for 67 yards. He received the ball seven times on Green Bay’s second touchdown drive. Wilson gained 36 yards on those runs. By our count, he gained 23 yards after contact on those plays. He broke a tackle and gained 18 yards after contact on a 23-yard run in the third quarter.

“He was able to put his foot in the ground and go outside, and we all know how fast he is. He’s really fast,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “The challenge for him before the game was to make sure he was running on contact with his feet and running through people, and I think he accomplished that for the most part.”

WR Grant DuBose

DuBose is battling with Malik Heath, Bo Melton and Samori Toure for the last one or two spots at receiver. DuBose continued his excellent practice streak, catching 5 of 6 passes for 66 yards.

In addition to the play, DuBose created five first downs, including a defensive hold on third-and-8 and 13 on fourth-and-3, 23 on third-and-9 and 12 on third-and-3. Particularly important was the 23-yard run, a decisive and athletic toe-dragger that set up an easy field goal at the end of a 2-minute drill.

“It feels good,” DuBose said. “I sat (on the practice squad) all last year. This offseason was pretty good for me. I just wanted to take advantage of that. This is nothing new for me. I always had to sit and wait for my number to be called. I think that’s what shaped me and built me ​​up for moments like this. I just wanted to take advantage of that and I feel like I did some good things today.”

EN Lukas Van Ness

Last year’s first-round pick finished his rookie season on a strong note, setting higher expectations for his second year, and Van Ness appears to be on pace to meet or exceed those expectations.

In 23 snaps, Van Ness had one sack and three tackles for loss. If Love’s 65-yard touchdown pass to Wicks was the highlight of the game, then Van Ness’ sack on the ensuing drive was perhaps the biggest play. The Browns had advanced to the Packers’ 34 when Van Ness eluded his blocker and brought down Jameis Winston for a 7-yard loss.

With five minutes left in the second quarter and the ball on the Green Bay 38-yard line, Van Ness teamed with Eric Stokes for a loss of yardage on second-and-two and teamed up with Isaiah McDuffie for another TFL on third-and-three to thwart that attack.

DT Devonte Wyatt

When Jeff Hafley was hired with the goal of building an offensive defense, one player seemed to be the main beneficiary.

Wyatt.

Wyatt is a first-round pick in 2022. His game is about athleticism and power, not about overcoming two-gaps and running over blockers.

Like Van Ness, Wyatt had an excellent training camp. On the first drive of the game, he threw aside his blocker to stop Jerome Ford for a gain of 2. One play later, it was Wyatt’s pressure that enabled Van Ness’ sack. On the next play, Wyatt’s immediate pressure forced a miss.

Officially, Wyatt does not appear in the defensive statistics. In reality, he was an influential player.

S Evan Williams

The ball has found Williams throughout training camp.

On the Browns’ first play of the second half, Williams found the ball. More specifically, he found the ball with his shoulder. His hard shot to running back John Kelly forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Kristian Welch. The Packers converted the ball into a field goal and extended their lead to 20-3.

“We were just talking in the locker room about how important it is to get the ball back,” Williams said. “During the game, it was a little screen pass, dump down. I just saw an open path and thought, OK, I’m probably going to be the one to make that play. I put my shoulder in a good spot. I think my arm and shoulder combination managed to knock it away.”

Williams had the most solo tackles on his team with six.

CB Kalen King

The Packers drafted King with the third-to-last pick in the draft. They know his story. King was named All-America in 2022 with three interceptions and 21 passes defensed. In 2023, he had zero interceptions and two passes defensed. A poor scouting combine sealed his fate in the draft.

The Packers took a chance because, well, why not. It’s too early to call King a steal of the draft or a future slot starter. But his instincts and aggressiveness were evident throughout training camp. On third-and-two, Kelly caught a checkdown and was immediately tackled to the ground by King.

RB MarShawn Lloyd

Lloyd’s exit with a hamstring injury on Saturday after just two touches and 14 snaps wouldn’t be a concern if he hadn’t missed the start of training camp with a hip injury, or if he hadn’t been limited to just 32 games in four college seasons.

As scouts like to say: injured players get injured.

Lloyd’s obvious explosiveness as a change of pace alongside Jacobs will do him no good if he can’t stay on the field.

“It’s disappointing,” said coach Matt LaFleur, “but he has to get healthy again because we saw in training what he’s capable of. Now we want to see that in a real game.”

RB AJ Dillon

One of these things is not like the other.

Jarveon Howard averaged 5.5 yards on eight carries. Wilson averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 13 carries. Lloyd averaged 8 yards on his only carry. Jacobs averaged 7 yards on his only carry.

Dillon averaged half a yard on four attempts. Of course, Howard, Wilson and Jacobs were blocked better than Dillon. Still, he got the ball three times in a row, starting with a second and one attempt, and failed to make the first attempt.

Dillon has said he is in the best shape of his life, which is obvious even at first glance. Nevertheless, one of the worst yards-after-contact backs in the league Last year, too, it didn’t work out after the contact in Cleveland.

WR Bo Melton

In 13 training camp practices, Melton looked more like a lineup player than a reserve, regularly breaking free and catching the ball in the passing game and using his explosive speed in the jet sweep game.

Against the Browns, he caught 1 of 4 passes for 12 yards. A strict evaluator would give him drops on all three incomplete passes. Two of those came on third down attempts, including third and second down attempts from the Browns’ 15-yard line. Also, a jet sweep handoff between Sean Clifford and Melton ended up on the ground in the first quarter, and a lucky rebound allowed Melton to turn disaster into a 10-yard gain.

Melton likely remains a top candidate for a roster spot, but next week’s practice and game in Denver will be especially important.

S Anthony Johnson

Defense is an 11-man sport. On first and 10 attempts late in the first quarter, the playbook says Colby Wooden tackled Pierre Strong for no gain. The reality is that Johnson, who was lined up in the box, came flying and ran over the lead blocker, rookie guard Javion Cohen, who was moving to the left. That allowed Wooden to get free and make the play.

It was a great play from the sophomore. He also made an excellent tackle in kickoff coverage.

If only he hadn’t missed a tackle on a third-and-9 attempt that allowed the Browns to move the chains. No safety in the NFL had a worse missed tackle rate than Johnson last year.

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