Tag: standouts

4 standouts from Packers’ preseason defeat to Broncos

Who stood out as the Packers fell 27-2 to the Broncos in the preseason on Sunday night?

The Green Bay Packers faced off against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 of the preseason on Sunday night. It was a rough outing for the Packers, especially the offense, who gave fans little to get excited about in a 27-2 loss.

Green Bay did not play any of their starters after they got plenty of work during Friday’s joint practice in Denver. The backups struggled against the Broncos starters to start the game and then continued to struggle deep into the second half.

It wasn’t easy to identify standouts from this performance, but here they are from the team’s second preseason game:

DE Brenton Cox Jr.

Cox was coming off a productive outing against the Cleveland Browns in which he generated three quarterback pressures on 14 pass-rushing snaps. The 2023 undrafted free agent was active again on Sunday, disrupting the quarterback and eventually getting rewarded with a sack in the third quarter. Cox beat backup right tackle Frank Crum with a nice move to take down Jarrett Stidham.

LB Kristian Welch

Welch has now had a hand in two takeaways in back-to-back weeks. Last week, he recovered a fumble set up a 35-yard field goal for Green Bay kicker Greg Joseph to go up 17-3. This week, came down with an interception thanks to a deflection from defensive lineman James Ester. Arron Mosby also played a role in the turnover by putting pressure on Stidham to force a hurried throw. In addition to the pick, Welch finished with five combined tackles, including a tackle for loss.

DL Zach Morton

Thanks to the second-year man out of Akron, the Packers didn’t get shut out. Green Bay ran a stunt with Denver backed up in their own territory, which allowed Morton to get a clean shot on Zach Wilson. He was able to bring Wilson down in his own endzone for a safety. After being released by the Detroit Lions, Morton played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL in 2024. A longshot to make the 53-man roster, he was credited with one tackle and one QB hurry in the first preseason game.

LB Ty’Ron Hopper

Hopper played a ton of snaps after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury. The rookie third-rounder was one of the most active players on the field in Denver, leading the team with 11 combined tackles. He had one big run stop on a big hit in the second half. The Missouri product will be hard-pressed to see the field on defense this season, but he could be a core special teamer.

13 NFL Combine standouts who could help the Chiefs in 2024

These 13 combine standouts are players that the #Chiefs should keep their eyes on in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to win their third-consecutive Super Bowl next season and need to bulk up their roster in the coming months to field a team capable of achieving such a difficult task.

While free agency is sure to provide Kansas City with some options later in March, the 2024 NFL Draft in April will be the best opportunity for the Chiefs to find talented players who can help them for years to come.

The NFL Scouting Combine last week gave the team’s scouts plenty to think about as they build Kansas City’s draft board. Several standout players separated themselves from the competition with their standout performances in Indianapolis, Indiana. They may be among the prospects that the Chiefs have their eyes on heading into the most crucial part of the offseason.

Check out which players Kansas City might be interested in after testing particularly well at the combine:

6 prospects who dominated Senior Bowl Week on offense

Some prospects shined more than others at Senior Bowl practices this week. Here are our six standouts on offense:

The road to the 2024 NFL draft isn’t as long as it looks like — before we know it, the New Orleans Saints will be on the clock. And the first big milestone on this journey is in Mobile, Ala., which hosts the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Teams will be watching how some of the top draft-eligible players across the country perform as they compete against each other in practices leading up to the all-star game.

Prospects took the field for three times this week and made their cases to impress scouts. Here are six of the best offensive players of this past week:

4 defensive standouts from Shrine Bowl practices

The defense was strong at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices. Which 2024 NFL draft prospects were standouts from that side of the ball?

The Senior Bowl isn’t the only college all-star game for NFL draft prospects to shine. East-West Shrine Bowl practices wrapped up on Tuesday morning, and the New Orleans Saints were in attendance. The defense jumped off the screen at multiple positions. Throughout the four days of practice, I found myself gravitating towards the defense during practice for both teams.

The position group that stood out the most was the defensive ends on the West team. You could have filled the defensive standouts with just that group and been justified. I decided to pick one guy from the group in Sundiata Anderson, however. These are four defensive standouts from the Shrine Bowl practices:

Studs and Duds from Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers

Our Studs and Duds from the Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers highlight Juwan Johnson, Demario Davis and other standouts from Sunday:

It took a team effort to put away the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the New Orleans Saints are left feeling pretty satisfied. This was a complete win with the offense, defense, and special teams units each pulling their weight.

But who were the standouts? Who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:

5 standouts from Packers’ 17-13 loss to the Raiders

Five standouts from the Packers’ Week 5 loss to the Raiders.

The Green Bay Packers reached a new low Monday night after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders 17-13 and falling to 2-3 on the season.

Hindered by three interceptions from Jordan Love, the offense struggled to move the ball consistently or put up points against a team that entered the week ranked 18th in total defense and 24th in scoring defense.

And yet, despite costly mistakes from their quarterback, the Packers still had a chance to win in the final two minutes when the defense forced the Raiders to kick a 52-yard field goal. Daniel Carlson’s attempt hit off the right upright and set Love up for a potential game-winning drive. However, after moving the ball to the Las Vegas 35-yard line, Love looked for Christian Watson, who had gotten behind the defense but underthrew the ball and saw his final pass intercepted by corner Amik Robertson in the end zone.

With 44 seconds left and only one timeout, that was the dagger.

There were still some head-scratching moments from Joe Barry’s defense, but overall, they did enough to win the game. Las Vegas’ top playmakers on offense, Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs, combined for just 134 yards. Unfortunately, losing the turnover battle 3 to 1 was the deciding factor.

Green Bay showed promise early in the season but is heading into the bye week with a ton of issues and no clear answers on how to fix them. Their next shot at redemption won’t be until October 22, a road game against the 1-4 Denver Broncos. Between now and then, the Packers will look at the tape to try and right the ship, but in the meantime, let’s try to find some positives by identifying some standouts from their latest loss to a bad Raiders team.

5 standouts from Packers’ 34-20 loss to the Lions

Standouts were hard to find coming out of the Packers’ 34-20 loss to the Lions. Here’s our top five.

The Green Bay Packers dropped to 2-2 on the season after being “manhandled” by the Detroit Lions in a 34-20 loss Thursday night.

Neither the offense nor defense came to play in the first half, allowing the Lions to take a 24-point lead into halftime. Last week, the Packers overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the New Orleans Saints, but poor execution and too many self-inflicted wounds made another comeback inconceivable.

Green Bay came up short in every major facet of their Week 4 matchup against a divisional rival. Detroit won the turnover battle, was more efficient on third and fourth down, gained more yards, and dominated time of possession. Until the last couple of years, the Packers had been the older, domineering brother to the Lions. However, Green Bay has lost four consecutive meetings to a franchise that has adopted a punch-first mentality under Dan Campbell.

For most of the game, the Packers were overwhelmed by the physicality of the Lions. The offensive line failed to generate any push or open up lanes for the running backs. Aaron Jones was the leading rusher with five carries for 18 yards. Protecting Jordan Love was also a massive issue, as he was hit on 11 of his dropbacks and sacked on five.

Green Bay couldn’t control the line of scrimmage on defense, either. Detroit took advantage of light boxes and consistently won at the point of attack to rush for 211 yards, matching the total this Packers defense surrendered in their Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. David Montgomery was questionable to play with a thigh injury, yet tallied 121 yards on 32 carries with three touchdowns.

Matt LaFleur used the words “humbling” and “embarrassing” to describe his team’s performance.

In 10 days, Green Bay will travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders in another primetime game on Monday Night Football. They will have to find ways to start faster in games moving forward, but before we look ahead, let’s try to identify a few standouts from the recent loss.

5 standouts from Packers’ 18-17 win over Saints

Five standouts from the Packers’ come-from-behind win over the Saints in Week 3.

A week ago in Atlanta, the Green Bay Packers couldn’t do anything right in the fourth quarter and it ended up costing them against the Falcons. This week, the Packers struggled for the first three quarters before mounting an incredible comeback to defeat the Saints 18-17.

“It was like a nightmare that went to a dream,” Matt LaFleur said after the game.

The offense was tough to watch for the first 45 minutes of Sunday’s home opener. They were once again down some key starters but saw their first seven drives end in zero points, mostly due to unforced errors and missed opportunities. However, the offense kept battling and, thanks to some late-game heroics from quarterback Jordan Love, scored 18 points over three straight fourth-quarter series to secure the win.

For as good as the offense was down the stretch, the defense kept the Packers in the game. One of New Orleans’ touchdowns came on a 76-yard punt return during the second quarter, so Joe Barry’s unit only gave up 10 points. It got a little dicey at the end, as they allowed the Saints to get into field goal range but were fortunate to watch rookie kicker Blake Grupe’s 46-yard attempt sail wide right. Overall, it wasn’t a complete performance, but the defense performed admirably without All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander, who was inactive with a back injury.

Not even a month into the season, injuries are starting to pile up for this Green Bay team, yet their performance in Week 3 showed a resilient group capable of overcoming great adversity. They now have a quick turnaround with the 2-1 Lions making a trip to Lambeau Field on Thursday, but we still have time to highlight the standouts from their come-from-behind win against the Saints.

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5 standouts from Packers’ 25-24 loss to the Falcons

Highlighting the standouts from the Packers’ loss to the Falcons in Week 2.

The Green Bay Packers fell to 1-1 on Sunday after blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to the Atlanta Falcons. Green Bay came into the game missing three starters on offense and lost another in Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins during the second quarter. After the game, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Jenkins suffered an MCL sprain and will have an MRI to determine the severity.

Even though they were shorthanded, the Packers’ offense had its moments en route to building a double-digit cushion. However, they failed to get a single first down in the final quarter, putting the fate of the game into the hands of the defense. That turned out to be the difference, as the Falcons took advantage of a porous Green Bay run defense to get back into the game. On the final drive, Atlanta ran the clock down to under a minute remaining before kicking the go-ahead field goal.

“They shredded us. Consistently,” Matt LaFleur said of the Falcons using 211 rushing yards to escape with a 25-24 victory.

Despite a monumental collapse, the Packers still had a chance to win in the end. Unfortunately, Jordan Love couldn’t get anything going on the final drive and threw four straight incompletions to well-covered receivers.

Looking back, both the offense and the defense had chances to put this game out of reach, but neither side could get it done.

Next week, Green Bay will take on the New Orleans Saints, but before we look ahead, let’s highlight the standouts from Week 2.

7 standouts from Packers’ 38-20 win over Bears

The seven standout individuals or position groups from the Packers’ 38-20 win over the Bears.

The Green Bay Packers are 1-0 to start the 2023 NFL season after defeating the Chicago Bears 38-20 in Week 1. Green Bay has won nine consecutive games against their oldest rival and couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Jordan Love era.

Despite winning by three scores, the Packers’ offense got off to a rocky start. Their lone touchdown in the first half came on a short field, set up by the defense forcing a turnover on downs to start the game. After three consecutive punts, Green Bay’s next points wouldn’t come until the end of the second quarter when rookie kicker Anders Carlson drilled a 52-yard field goal as time expired.

However, Love and company came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, scoring back-to-back touchdown drives to start the third quarter. As a whole, Green Bay’s offense enjoyed a productive day without top wide receiver Christian Watson, totaling 329 yards while converting 9 of their 16 third down attempts and finishing 3-3 in the red zone.

Defensively, the Packers won the turnover battle 2-0 and were effective at pressuring Chicago quarterback Justin Fields, who was sacked four times and finished with a quarterback rating of 21.7.

Overall, Green Bay did a lot of good things in all three phases, but there is still plenty to clean up before they face a 1-0 Atlanta Falcons team next week.

Before we look ahead to Week 2, let’s highlight the top standouts from their latest win over the Bears.