Tag: takeaway

Biggest things to take away from Packers’ preseason loss to Patriots

What are the most important takeaways from the Packers preseason loss to the Patriots? Our staff make their picks.

Two preseason games down, one to go for Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers in 2023. On Saturday night at Lambeau Field, the Packers fell to the New England Patriots 21-17 in a game suspended in the fourth quarter after an injury to Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden.

Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Jayden Reed, Kingsley Enagbare had two sacks and Anders Carlson made a 52-yard field goal.

To help put a bow on Saturday’s preseason contest, here are our biggest things to take away from the loss to the Patriots:

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice reveals biggest takeaway from preseason debut

Rashee Rice had an interesting perspective on life NFL after his first game in a Chiefs uniform on Sunday.

Even after four years of playing college football at a high level, Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Rashee Rice admitted that there’s nothing quite like playing in the NFL.

When asked about his biggest surprise and/or takeaway from Kansas City’s Week 1 preseason loss against the New Orleans Saints, Rice noted that it was playing against new faces that posed the biggest challenge.

“I would say – not necessarily a surprise – just being able to go against another team,” Rice said during Tuesday’s presser. “I’m used to being in college and knowing exactly who I’m about to go against, but in the NFL, you can only really just watch film and try to understand the person that you’re going to be able to compete against. There’s a lot of guys I’ve never seen before on the field that I got to be in front of.”

It’s indeed a different beast going up against NFL talent versus the competition Rice was used to at SMU, mostly against American Athletic Conference teams. Not only was Rice facing fellow rookies in the preseason – he was facing NFL veterans as well.

With all that in mind, Rice did a solid job in his preseason debut. He earned three catches for 30 yards on four targets and even notched a tackle on special teams. The rook still has a ways to go before he fully becomes acclimated to NFL defenses, but he seems to be tracking well so far.

One takeaway from each Packers position group after first week of training camp

The Packers have completed four practices in training camp 2023. Here’s one takeaway from each position group so far.

The Green Bay Packers have an off day on Sunday before they resume practice on Monday with the pads on for the first time this summer. But before a new week begins, there have been four training camp practices that have already taken place, three of which were at full speed, and a lot of takeaways to go along with them.

Based on what I observed during these practices, here is the one thing from each Packers position group that you need to know heading into Week 2 of training camp.

Only meaningful takeaway from loss to Chiefs: Packers defense is for real

The Packers will inch closer to 2010 status if the defense keeps ascending.

How much can be ascertained from an out-of-conference road game with a backup quarterback starting? For the Green Bay Packers, not much. Sunday’s 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs wasn’t necessarily revealing in terms of evaluating the long-term potential of quarterback Jordan Love, who made his first career NFL start, but the other side of the ball is starting to prove some things.

There’s really only one takeaway that matters coming out of the game: Joe Barry’s defense is ascending and looks for real entering the stretch run of games.

The offense will be fine. Likely more than fine. Both Aaron Rodgers and David Bakhtiari should return Sunday, and teams aren’t going to be blitzing the Packers without fear once the three-time MVP and five-time All-Pro are back in the lineup.

And one game in a tough environment isn’t enough to properly evaluate Love, especially considering how effective Kansas City’s blitz plan was and how little the Packers had ready to counter it.

So, what did we learn? The Packers defense can play at an elite level against the best of the best, even if the best of the best is in the middle of an identity crisis. The ascension of Joe Barry’s group from middling to good to potentially great is a transformation that could transform the Packers into a Super Bowl favorite. Matt LaFleur called it a “championship” performance.

How good were they on Sunday? 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes averaged 4.49 yards per attempt, the lowest in a single game in his career. He threw for 166 yards, the lowest in a game in which he’s thrown at least 35 passes. The Chiefs scored 13 points and gained 237 total yards, both the fewest in a game started by Mahomes.

Most impressively, the Packers accomplished the feat without All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander or All-Pro edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kenny Clark departed in the first half. At full strength, this defense could have the looks of an elite unit.

The numbers reflect the performance. Through nine games, the Packers are sixth in the NFL in points allowed, fifth in yards, fifth in takeaways, fifth in yards per play and seventh in opposing passer rating.

Combine an elite defense with Rodgers and Matt LaFleur’s offense and the 2021 Packers look more and more like the 2010 Packers.

A few other observations and takeaways from the contest:

– Elgton Jenkins was terrific again at left tackle. He started six games at the position and proved to be one of the NFL’s best. He’ll likely move back to left guard when Bakhtiari returns, but it’s hard to overstate his accomplishments at a premium position. Not many teams have a starting-caliber left tackle, the Packers have two legit Pro Bowlers.

– Twelve touches for A.J. Dillon didn’t feel like enough. He’s a positive-play machine, even when the run blocking isn’t perfect, and his performance in the passing game through nine games is more than enough evidence for his value there. It’s tough to get two great running backs enough touches, but the Packers need to keep trying.

– The field goal operation has to get cleaned up. The Packers have missed six field goals and an extra point through nine games; that’s 19 points. The whole thing has been a mess, from the blocking to the snapping to the holding to the kicking. It all needs to get better.

The 2021 Wisconsin Badgers have found a winning identity

The 2021 Wisconsin Badgers have found a winning identity

Winning looks different for every college football team. It even varies year-to-year for the Wisconsin Badgers.

The 2021 Badgers obviously struggled to find wins early on this season. In that losing the team’s identity wasn’t fully clear. The defense was great, but there was no clear strong point to point to on offense.

That trended positively through the last few wins, as the run blocking began to improve and the run game started to dominate as a result.

After today’s 30-13 victory over Purdue? We see Wisconsin’s clear winning identity.

That identity: Continue to play dominant defense on all levels, win in the run-blocking department, let Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen generate offense and only require around 10 pass attempts from Graham Mertz.

That’s what worked today, with Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi combining for nearly 300 yards, Jim Leonhard’s defense forcing five turnovers and Graham Mertz only attempting two passes in the second half.

The team is clearly at its best when Mertz isn’t forced to throw the ball often, Allen and Mellusi get to find space and make plays and the defense isn’t left out to dry by stagnant offensive performances.

In all, it’s a great sign for Wisconsin’s chances at the Big Ten West this season. Now we see if the team can carry it over into a season-defining game next Saturday against Iowa.

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WATCH: Kazee denies Bucs TD with forced fumble, gives Cowboys last chance

With their backs against the wall, the Cowboys’ defense got a takeaway on a forced fumble by S Kazee, giving the offense a chance to win it.

With the Cowboys down two points on their own 13-yard line, Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin caught a pass and got to the two-yard line, looking as if he could score. That was until new Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee put his helmet right on the football and punched it out. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis scooped up the football and returned it to the 11, setting up the Dallas offense.

This is the fourth takeaway by defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s defense and it sets up quarterback Dak Prescott and the offense with just under five minutes left for a chance to win the game with a field goal. The defense has been feast or famine in the game and the takeaways have been timely for Quinn and his unit.

WATCH: CB Diggs makes tip drill INT, K Zuerlein finally makes FG for short-lived lead

CB Trevon Diggs got in on the takeaway party with an interception on a tip drill and K Greg Zuerlein cashed in on the play with a field goal

If one takeaway for the Dallas defense wasn’t enough, cornerback Trevon Diggs joined the party after a tipped pass for Tampa Bay found its way to him. Diggs had some struggles in his rookie season, but spent a lot of time in practice matching up on wide receiver Amari Cooper and he’s making his presence felt early.

This was the second straight takeaway for the Cowboys in as many defensive possessions and the offense was forced to a three-and-out after starting at the Buccaneers 21 yard line. K Greg Zuerlein stepped in after the quick stop by the Tampa Bay defense and made the 35-yard field goal to give Dallas a 16-14 lead. Zuerlein has missed a 31-yarder and a PAT early in this game and will need to tighten up as this game and the season progresses.

Unfortunately the defense couldn’t hold a third-straight time as Tom Brady found Antonio Brown for a big bomb down the right sideline against Anthony Brown, giving Tampa a 21-16 lead going into the half.

WATCH: First takeaway of 2021 leads to Cowboys touchdown

The defense has its first takeaway of the season. Prescott and the offense took no time capitalizing with a touchdown on a pass to Cooper.

The Dallas Cowboys have been in need of defensive success for a while. The staff welcomed new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn this offseason and the team has seen a change to simplicity under their new headman. With a cast of new faces on the defense, defensive ends Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory have stayed right in the middle of their focus.

After a missed field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein, Lawrence punched the ball out from running back Ronald Jones’ hands and none other than Gregory came up with the recovery. This is the first takeaway of the season for the Dallas defense and it’s a sight for sore Cowboys fan eyes. 

The offense took over at the Buccaneers’ 27-yard line and quarterback Dak Prescott continued his solid night with a five-yard strike to wide receiver Amari Cooper in the endzone to make it a 14-13 game after a missed PAT by Zuerlein.