Winners and losers of the Packers’ preseason win over the Ravens

GREEN BAY, Wis. — For Green Bay Packers players whose roster has not yet been finalized, Saturday’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens was their last opportunity to prove their chances of making the 53-man roster or even a spot on the practice squad.

With coach Matt LaFleur resting 38 players who were either no longer on the roster or recovering from injuries, there were plenty of opportunities.

General manager Brian Gutekunst, who will have to reduce the roster to 53 players on Tuesday, watched the game from the sidelines. At one point he started a conversation with young quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

“Not commentating on the game definitely gives me more time to talk during the game,” LaFleur said after the 30-7 win. “Honestly, I found it really useful personally, especially when you’re talking about who you want to see in the game. It’s been a pretty good collaboration.”

Here were the winners and losers from Saturday.

RB Emanuel Wilson

Emanuel Wilson finished the preseason with 11 carries for 52 yards against the Ravens, a solid 4.7-yard average. By our count, he forced three missed tackles. A week after gaining more yards after contact than he did overall against the Broncos — in other words, Wilson got no help at all from the offensive line last week — he had 37 yards after contact against the Ravens.

He added 26 receiving yards, including a 20-yard pass where he took a hard hit from a Ravens defender like he was a brick wall that a toddler had just run into.

“Honestly, I saw two guys,” Wilson said. “I really thought about taking it easy on my body, but they always blame me for finishing my runs. I tried that. We fought each other. He thought he did something. I was like, ‘I’m here. I’m still here.'”

Wilson led the NFL in preseason rushing last year. With a few preseason games on Sunday, Wilson was second in rushing yards, second in missed tackles and first in yards after contact.

WR Malik Heath

Malik Heath had one of the most surprising pieces of the joint practice by running a wide margin past Ravens first-round pick Nate Wiggins, whose 4.28 on the 40-yard line at this year’s Scouting Combine is one of the fastest ever.

On Saturday, it was more mundane work with four catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. It was a strong final statement in a heated battle for position.

“I just have to keep piling up days, you know what I mean?” he said. “I’m just trying to do my best to get on this team. I’m doing what I can to help this team win the championship this year. That’s all I can do. I control what I can control.”

OT Kadeem Telfort

Kadeem Telfort, an undrafted free agent last year, came into the game with perhaps the last spot on the offensive line. In 18 pass-protection snaps against the Ravens, he allowed no pressure at all. He also drove his man down the line a few times to set up cutback runs.

“I feel like I’ve done everything I could,” he said. “I’ve made a huge leap from last year to this year.”

DT Colby Wooden

Wooden and the No. 2 defensive line were throttled last week in Denver, but Wooden was a threat against the Ravens. His two tackles in 18 snaps both came on the first attempt, limiting the Ravens to gains of 3 and minus-1.

EN Arron Mosby

Mosby capped off a solid training camp with a sack/strip and an interception in just 17 snaps.

“I’m in my third year now and I would say it’s finally paid off,” Mosby said“Just keep at it. You never know how this NFL thing is going to go, so keep going. To all the young guys and everybody watching this, just keep going because eventually you’re going to get your big break.

“I would say this game was not my breakthrough, but it was a great game for me. I am happy with what I achieved. In the future I just need to improve it. Now I have a standard that I have to reach or exceed in every game.”

LB Kristian Welch

Welch had one interception but made up for it with another. He also tied for the team lead with five tackles.

In three preseason games, Welch tied for the team lead with 16 tackles and led the team with two interceptions and three passes defended. In fact, Welch tied for the NFL leader with two interceptions.

Despite a stellar preseason on defense, special teams are Welch’s signature skill in the NFL. Against the Ravens, he had a tackle in punt coverage and sank a punt at the 14.

“I think I’ve hopefully done enough” to make the team, he said. “I just try to take advantage of every opportunity I get. A lot of those opportunities are out of your control. You have to have the right attitude every time you’re on the field and try to make the plays.”

Linebacker Chris Russell

In his ninth day as a member of the Packers, Chris Russell was tied for the team lead with five tackles, including a fourth-down stop and a tackle for loss.

Is that enough for Edgerrin Cooper’s former teammate his current teammate to remain with a place in the training squad?

S Anthony Johnson

There was little doubt that Anthony Johnson would make the team, but the second-year safety made a statement with his fumble recovery touchdown and some physical tackles.

“I had some big hits,” Johnson said with a big smile. “I had some good angles coming off the post after halftime. I’m proud of what I did and what I put on tape today.”

Quarterback Sean Clifford

Little by little, Sean Clifford’s lead over Michael Pratt as the No. 2 quarterback this summer was waning. On Saturday, LaFleur rotated the quarterbacks every two series so they played with and against similar opponents. There would be no reason to do that if Clifford’s spot in the rankings was secure.

Pratt wasn’t great either, but Clifford started the game with 1 of 7 passes and a fumbled shotgun snap.

According to Pro Football Focus, Clifford completed just 3 of 12 passes under pressure last season – including 0 of 5 against the Ravens – and 1 of 6 passes over 20 yards.

TE Joel Wilson

Joel Wilson’s desperate chance to make the roster was dashed when he dropped one of Clifford’s passes, allowing the quarterback to score.

S Kitan Oladapo

After a promising defensive debut in Denver, fifth-round safety Kitan Oladapo was not as effective against the Ravens. In 37 total snaps (26 on defense, 11 on special teams), his only statistical contribution was an illegal blindside block on Welch’s interception return.

K Anders Carlson

With the kick job almost in the bag, Anders Carlson missed a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Coaches and managers talk so much about the “sophomore jump” that it’s been cited as one of life’s three certainties, along with death and taxes. Yet Carlson’s accuracy this summer was almost exactly the same as last season, when he ranked 23rd among 31 qualified kickers.

“We’ll see what happens in the league,” LaFleur said.

In other words, Carlson could make the roster on Tuesday, but there’s a chance he won’t be on the team on Wednesday.

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