GREEN BAY, Wis. – The preseason could not have started much better for the Green Bay Packers, who dominated the Cleveland Browns 23-10 on Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
On the third offensive play of the game, Jordan Love threw a deep pass to Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard touchdown. On defense, two former first-round picks, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and defensive end Lukas Van Ness, were outstanding.
“I thought it was good to be back out there,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It got a little rougher in practice. It was good to go up against someone new. I liked how our guys competed in all three phases. I thought they made a lot of good shots. I thought what we expected in terms of effort, running to the football and finishing was right on target.”
For the opening touchdown, Wicks faced safety Ronnie Hickman one-on-one. Wicks took advantage of the mismatch and immediately got behind Hickman. Love, who threw a few long passes short to Christian Watson in Thursday’s practice but was otherwise better with long balls, threw a perfect pass. Wicks caught the ball on the run near the 35-yard line and ran the final 15 yards at three-quarter speed.
“We had a great play set up for that situation, one-on-one with Wicks in the slot,” Love said. “I faked the handoff and he ran a great route, kind of lulled him to sleep up top and then was able to get past him, and (I) just passed him the ball and he did the rest. Great play by him.”
Cleveland answered with a 55-yard field goal. After the Browns’ second first down of the drive, Wyatt’s pressure allowed Van Ness to sack and pressure him again on second down to force an incomplete pass.
The score remained 7-3 for most of the half until Emanuel Wilson scored on a 4-yard run with 2:48 left in the half. Sean Clifford hit Grant DuBose for gains of 14 and 13 and Wilson carried seven times. The score came on a run up the middle in which DuBose, receiver Bo Melton and tight end Ben Sims were as important as the offensive line.
Late in the first half, Clifford’s 28-yard pass to DuBose, who placed the ball on Cleveland’s sideline with a powerful catch, set up Anders Carlson’s 46-yard field goal on the final play, making the halftime score 17-3.
During his halftime interview, LaFleur said he was waiting for the defense to force a turnover. And sure enough, on the first play of the third quarter, safety Evan Williams rammed his shoulder into running back John Kelly, who spit the ball out. Kristian Welch caught the ball at the Browns’ 38-yard line. A 17-yard pass to tight end Joel Wilson set the stage for Greg Joseph’s 35-yard field goal that increased the lead to 20-3.
Another rookie defensive back, Kalen King, made a great tackle in the open field on third-and-2, forcing a three-and-out punt. The Packers converted that into another field goal, a 33-yard field goal by Carlson. With rookie Michael Pratt at quarterback, DuBose continued his strong play with a 12-yard catch on third-and-3. On the next play, Wilson broke a tackle and caught a Pratt block on a 25-yard run.
The Packers are entering a big week of practice. They will practice in front of fans on Tuesday and Wednesday before flying to Denver on Thursday. The Packers and Broncos will have a joint practice on Friday and a preseason game on Sunday.
LaFleur was inclined to “use practice as a game replay and let the other guys play for the most part in this second preseason game. Then we’ll reevaluate for the third game.”
Love finished 2 of 2 for 63 yards and a touchdown. Clifford finished 10 of 19 for 111 yards, with three of his incomplete passes helping him control the clock on his 2-minute drill.
Wilson’s running game was one person, with 13 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown; no one else managed more than 10 yards until rookie Jarveon Howard found a big gap between Lecitus Smith and Jacob Monk with about 4 minutes left and opened up a 16-yard gain. Howard put together a strong final spurt as the Packers played out the final 5 minutes.
DuBose, a seventh-round draft pick last year who was released from the practice squad because he missed so much time with a back injury, continued his strong training camp by catching five passes for 66 yards.
Van Ness had one sack and three tackles for loss, and defensive tackles Colby Wooden and Spencer Waege also had sacks.
With right tackle Zach Tom and projected right guard Jordan Morgan, the team’s first-round pick, out with injuries, the No. 1 line consisted of left tackle Rasheed Walker, left guard Elgton Jenkins, center Josh Myers, right guard Sean Rhyan and right tackle Andre Dillard. They only played together on the three-play touchdown drive. The pass defense was excellent on both passing plays and the line opened a gap for Josh Jacobs, who scored 7 points on his only run.
More news from the Green Bay Packers training camp
Your 2024 NFL MVP started the preseason with a bang.
More on Jordan Love’s start and other stuff. https://t.co/a5OszkqM0Q
— Jacob Westendorf (@JacobWestendorf) 10 August 2024
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