Tag: Week 4

Packers PFF grades: Best, worst players from loss to Vikings in Week 4

Based on grades from PFF, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ Week 4 loss to the Vikings.

Quarterback Jordan Love started slow, Jeff Hafley’s defense struggled early and the Green Bay Packers were unable to crawl out of a 28-0 hole despite going on a 22-0 run during Sunday’s 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Love’s struggles against pressure and the Packers’ inability to consistently pressure Sam Darnold were primary causes for the defeat. Matt LaFleur’s team also missed two field goals, dropped an interception and had four giveaways, including two turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ Week 4 loss to the Vikings:

Top 5 offense

1. RT Zach Tom: 89.0
2. WR Jayden Reed: 75.7
3. LT Rasheed Walker: 74.0
4. RB Emanuel Wilson: 71.5
5. QB Jordan Love: 68.8

Tom allowed only two pressures over 58 pass-blocking snaps and earned an elite grade as a run blocker. Reed caught seven of eight targets, averaged 3.09 yards per route run, created 44 yards after the catch and caught both of his contested catch opportunities. Walker gave up four hurries over 58 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t have a penalty. Wilson forced a missed tackle and was solid over nine pass-blocking snaps. Love hit four passes thrown over 20 yards in the air but did have three turnover worthy plays.

Top 5 defense

1. S Xavier McKinney: 91.0
2. S Evan Williams: 81.0
3. LB Quay Walker: 68.1
4. LB Isaiah McDuffie: 68.0
5. DL Kenny Clark: 66.0

McKinney had four tackles without a miss, a quarterback hurry and an interception, creating an elite coverage grade. Williams didn’t allow a completion into his coverage over 10 total snaps. Walker had a sack, three stops and a solid day in coverage. McDuffie didn’t have a missed tackle, produced a stop and nearly had an interception. Clark had two stops against the run and two hurries.

Bottom 5 offense

1. TE Luke Musgrave: 49.3
2. LG Elgton Jenkins: 55.3
3. TE Tucker Kraft: 55.6
4. WR Romeo Doubs: 55.9
5. WR Malik Heath: 57.4

Musgrave struggled as both a run blocker and pass protector, and he turned 16 routes run into just 13 receiving yards. Jenkins Kraft got dinged hard for his fourth-quarter fumble and a penalty negating an explosive run. Doubs ran 51 routes but caught only four passes, and he was 1-for-3 on contested catches. Heath caught two passes for 12 yards but received poor grades as a blocker.

Bottom 5 defense

1. DL TJ Slaton: 34.2
2. DE Kingsley Enagbare: 39.0
3. DL Devonte Wyatt: 40.6
4. LB Edgerrin Cooper: 41.0
5. LB Eric Wilson: 41.1

Slaton had three pressures, including a quarterback hit, but he earned the worst run-defense grade on the team. Enagbare had two hurries over 12 pass-rushing snaps and missed a tackle. Wyatt didn’t have a single pressure over 18 pass-rushing snaps. Cooper missed a tackle, gave a 12-yard catch and had a 15-yard face mask penalty. Wilson gave up a touchdown pass in coverage.

Special teams

Malik Heath, Isaiah McDuffie and Zayne Anderson all had special teams tackles. Bo Melton recovered a muffed punt but missed a tackle. Robert Rochell also missed a tackle. The Packers didn’t have a special teams penalty. Brayden Narveson missed two field goals, including a 37-yarder. Daniel Whelan averaged 55.0 yards per punt, put two inside the 20-yard line and had a net of 51.7 yards. His hangtime was over five seconds per punt.

Quarterback play

Jordan Love: 68.8

Love had one big-time throw and three turnover-worthy plays, and he was hurt by three drops and a 3-for-11 finish on contested catch opportunities. Love completed 4-of-10 passes thrown 20 yards down the field. He struggled under pressure, completing only 7-of-19 passes with a pair of interceptions. The Vikings blitzed him on over half of his dropbacks. When kept clean, Love completed 25 of 35 passes, averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and threw three touchdown passes.

Stat to know

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was under pressure on 11 of his 33 dropbacks. When he was kept clean, Darnold completed 16 passes for 200 yards and three touchdown passes. The pass-rush wasn’t good enough or consistent enough. Overall, Darnold had as many turnover-worthy plays as Jordan Love, but the Packers dropped a pick on the first series.

5 takeaways from the Broncos’ 10-9 win over the Jets

The Broncos got an upset win over the Jets in Week 4. Here are five quick takeaways from the victory.

The Denver Broncos improved to .500 on Sunday following their 10-9 victory over the New York Jets on the road. Here are five quick takeaways from the win.

1. Justin Strnad stepped up: Following the Alex Singleton injury, Strnad started across from Cody Barton at inside linebacker and played well. Strnad finished the day with four tackles (two behind the line of scrimmage) and one sack. The Broncos added two veteran linebackers to their practice squad after the Singleton injury, but Strnad played well enough to start again in Week 5.

2. Pat Surtain does it again: PS2 essentially shut down DK Metcalf, George Pickens and Mike Evans through the first three games of the season. That trend continued on Sunday as Surtain held Garrett Wilson to two catches for 22 yards. PS2 is playing like the best cornerback in the NFL.

3. Javonte Williams got back on track: After struggling early this season, Williams looked more like his pre-injury self against the Jets on Sunday. Williams finished the game with 16 carries for 77 yards, an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Denver’s offense had a strong showing on the ground overall as Jaleel McLaughlin added nine carries for 46 yards (5.1 YPC).

4. Vance Joseph’s defense is elite: The Broncos have allowed an average of 13.8 points per game through the first four weeks of the season with 16 sacks, a pair of fourth-down stops, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. One could make an argument that Denver has the best defense in the NFL after the team shut down Aaron Rodgers in Week 4.

5. Bo Nix made plays when it counted: Nix struggled early and went into halftime with negative seven passing yards. The rookie quarterback overthrew several deep passes and struggled with accuracy throughout the first half. Nix was clutch when it counted, though, leading an 11-play, 87-yard drive in the third quarter that ended with his first career touchdown pass to give the Broncos a lead on the road. Nix ended the game with just 60 passing yards, but he did not have any turnovers and did not take any sacks for the second straight week. After a rough start, Nix made plays when the team needed it most, and he took care of the football in a close game. Nix and the offense are trending in the right direction, but progress has been gradual.

Up next for the Broncos is a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

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Broncos QB Bo Nix reacts to meeting Jets QB Aaron Rodgers

“It’s a scary sight with him with the ball at the end, but our defense came out today and won the game,” Bo Nix said of Aaron Rodgers.

Leading up to the Denver Broncos’ game against the New York Jets, rookie quarterback Bo Nix said he was eager to meet and play against Aaron Rodgers in Week 4.

So, after a 10-9 victory on Sunday, Nix was asked about facing Rodgers.

“Well, it was awesome meeting him,” Nix said after the game. “Obviously, I’ve got the most respect for him. Grew up watching him several times. I was never on the sidelines for it, but I watched a lot of TV comebacks where he’s marching on the last drive. Honestly, you just got to put your hope in the defense. It’s a scary sight with him with the ball at the end, but our defense came out today and won the game.”

Rodgers had two chances at the end of Sunday’s game to get the Jets within field goal range for a potential game-winning kick. He turned the ball over on downs on the first attempt and New York missed a 50-yard field goal on the Jets’ second attempt, sealing the game.

Rodgers was shut down by Denver’s talented defense, and the Jets dropped to 2-2. The Broncos improved to 2-2 with the victory and Denver is now set to host the 2-2 Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

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Broncos coach Sean Payton proud of players for gritty win

“Man, proud of how we fought,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said following the team’s gritty win over the Jets.

It wasn’t pretty, but there are no asterisks next to ugly wins in the NFL.

The Denver Broncos defeated the New York Jets 10-9 on a rainy, sloppy day in New Jersey on Sunday. After the victory, Broncos coach Sean Payton called it a gritty performance.

“Man, proud of how we fought,” Payton said. “You don’t know sometimes; I think we talked about it last week how games unfold. I don’t think either team expected the weather to impact the game like it did that much in the first half. Nonetheless, good team that we played, and we fought hard. It was good to get a win.”

Denver has now won consecutive road games and the team is .500 going into next week’s home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

“This team is young, we’ve got a lot of young guys but we’re gritty and I like it,” left tackle Garett Bolles said of the team’s two-game road trip. “I’m just very grateful man, this team is just so special man. From the locker room, our relationships that we have. We’re just trusting each other, trusting in the game plan, trusting in our coaches and I think just the importance of a team.

“It was just a team. Everyone just put their prides aside and we just focused on each other these last 10 days. We got one in Tampa, but I think this one was a special one how that meter was rolling back and forth. We needed to do what we needed to do and sometimes you win like this and that’s all that matters.”

The Broncos will now look to keep up the momentum against their division rival in Week 5.

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Broncos QB Bo Nix made NFL history against the Jets

Bo Nix became the first QB in the NFL’s Super Bowl era to win a game with a YPA average lower than 2.5 on Sunday.

Bo Nix made NFL history on Sunday, but he did so with a Tim Tebow-inspired stat line.

Playing in New Jersey on a rainy day, Nix went 12-of-25 passing for just 60 yards in the Denver Broncos’ 10-9 win over the New York Jets.

With that victory, Nix became the NFL’s first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win a game with at least 25 passing attempts and an average lower than 2.5 yards per attempt (Nix averaged 2.4 YPA on Sunday).

Sunday also marked the first time since 2007 that a quarterback got a win with at least 20 passing attempts and 60 or fewer passing yards (Eli Manning won a game with 59 passing yards in 2007).

While those historic numbers are ugly to look at, Nix led an important touchdown drive when it mattered most against the Jets. He also did not have any turnovers and did not take any sacks for the second straight week. This is the first time since 2016 that Denver has gone consecutive games without allowing a sack.

Nix has been sacked a total of four times through four games, the lowest sack total a Broncos quarterback has taken through the first four weeks of a season since 2014. So while his yardage total was ugly on Sunday, Nix did protect the ball well and he eluded pressure from the Jets’ defense.

The most important stat on Sunday was Nix adding one win to the team’s record. NFL fans will poke fun at the QB’s stats, but Denver won’t care what the numbers look like if Nix continues to win.

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8 players did not play in Broncos’ game vs. Jets

Eight Broncos players did not play against the Jets, including rookie RB Blake Watson, who has been inactive for all four games this fall.

Eight members of the 53-man roster did not play in the Denver Broncos’ 10-9 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson, wide receiver Devaughn Vele, running back Blake Watson, cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, safety JL Skinner (ankle), tight end Lucas Krull and defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike were inactive in Week 4.

Skinner was ruled out with an ankle injury. Vele injured his ribs in Week 1 but he did not appear on the injury report last week, so it seems that he was a healthy scratch against the Jets.

Despite being inactive, Wilson still dressed as the team’s emergency third-string quarterback in New Jersey. Bo Nix played every snap on offense, so primary backup Jarrett Stidham also did not play, giving Denver eight total players who did not see the field against the Jets.

After Tyler Badie injured his back against New York, Watson might be in line to be active for the first time against the Las Vegas Raiders next week.

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Tyler Badie’s mom posts message on social media after RB’s injury

“Thank you so very much for your prayers for our son Tyler Badie,” the running back’s mother wrote on her Twitter/X page.

Denver Broncos running back Tyler Badie suffered a scary back injury against the New York Jets on Sunday and was carted to the locker room.

The running back’s mother, Tanjala T. Gipson, posted a message on her Twitter/X page on Sunday night after the game.

“This photo was taken just before today’s game,” Gipson wrote on her social media page. “God was good then, and God is good now. We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Thank you so very much for your prayers for our son Tyler Badie.”

The accompanying photo showed a t-shirt with a Bible verse that reads, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Badie had movement in all of his extremities after the game and reports have indicated that the running back is expected to be okay.

Badie flew back to Denver on Sunday night.

Badie, 24, was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster last week following his 70-yard performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has rushed for 86 yards through three games this season.

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Good, bad and ugly from Packers’ 31-29 loss to the Vikings in Week 4

The good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ 31-29 loss to the Vikings in Week 4.

The Green Bay Packers dug a 28-0 hole, got back into the game with a 22-0 run but then ran out of gas late in a 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 divisional opener on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Matt LaFleur’s team in the first half. A strong second half wasn’t enough to overcome the stink of the first 30 minutes.

The Packers are now 2-2 and staring up at the unbeaten Vikings in the NFC North standings after four weeks.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ loss to the Vikings:

The Good

The potential of the passing game: Sure, Jordan Love threw three interceptions, and receivers failed over and over again to make a play on a misplaced throw. But even though the Packers passing game sputtered early and made too many mistakes overall, it’s impossible to miss the enormous potential bubbling under the surface. It’s one thing for a passing game to struggle due to covered receivers, or poor blocking, or misreads from the quarterback. It’s another when a rusty quarterback has erratic accuracy in his first game back from an injury and otherwise talented receiver are open but not finishing plays. Throwing the football consistently at the NFL level takes precision. The Packers don’t have it right now, but the foundation looks incredibly strong. As Love settles in and the timing and execution improves, the passing game could explode in production and efficiency. It’s all there. The Packers must get marginally better in a few areas and the sleeping giant will awaken.

WR Jayden Reed: Eight touches, seven receptions, 141 total yards, three explosive plays and a touchdown. Reed is a star. Through four games, Reed has 427 total yards, three touchdowns and 11 explosive plays — seven receptions of 20 or more yards and four rushes of 15 or more yards.

X goes 4/4: The streak continues for Xavier McKinney — four games, four interceptions. His pick in front of Aaron Jones prevented points in the second half and made team history — McKinney became the first player in franchise history to intercept a pass in his first four games with the team.

The Bad

The pass rush: In a game without Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine available, the Packers desperately needed the defensive front to take over the game. But after sacking Will Levis eight times last week, the Packers struggled to disrupt the pocket against Sam Darnold on Sunday. He played from too many clean pockets, especially on key passing downs. The Packers had only three quarterback hits, and two of the three came on sacks from Quay Walker and Keisean Nixon off blitzes. The four-man pass-rushing group from the Packers — led by Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark — wasn’t nearly good enough. Both Gary and Clark need to make more plays. It didn’t help to lose Devonte Wyatt to an ankle injury in the second half.

K Brayden Narveson: He missed from 37 yards off the up right, and his 49-yarder never had a chance. Not only did his two first-half misses cost the Packers six important points, but Matt LaFleur later went for it on 4th-and-10 inside field goal range. Let’s say Narveson made his first two kicks, and the Packers trailed 28-6 when the 4th-and-10 decision from the Vikings’ 34-yard line arrived. Does LaFleur kick? The lost points from the special teams really hurt in a two-point defeat. Narveson has missed four field goals in four games.

The Ugly

The first half: It would have been difficult to script a more nightmarish start for the Packers. Jordan Love threw a pair of interceptions resulting in touchdowns. Brayden Narveson missed two field goals. The Vikings scored on their first three possessions and four of their first five. Christian Watson suffered an injury. Penalties were a recurring issue. It took a crazy sequence — featuring a muffed punt, a 15-yard penalty on coach Matt LaFleur and a touchdown pass from Love to Jayden Reed — to salvage the first 30 minutes after the Packers fell behind 28-0. In the victorious visitors’ locker room, Kevin O’Connell said his team created an “avalanche” in the first half. Hard to argue with the description. The Packers looked buried under the weight of their own mistakes.

Colts LB Zaire Franklin has choice words for Najee Harris’ pregame antics

Najee Harris, during pregame, flipped off the Colts’ overhead jumbotron. Like everyone in the stadium, LB Zaire Franklin saw and responded.

Pittsburgh’s Week 4 contest left a sour taste in the mouths of fans and players alike. Several Steelers players wore their hearts on their sleeves after the loss. However, one player seemed to be in a bad mood before the game even started.

Najee Harris apparently didn’t take too kindly to being used as a noise tactic on the Indianapolis jumbotron. As he was walking out with his team, he flipped off the cameras—displaying the gesture to every man, woman, and child in the stadium.

Colts’ linebacker Zaire Franklin didn’t appreciate the unruly gesture and responded to Harris’ actions on social media:

Franklin is, of course, referencing number 84, Cordarrelle Patterson, who exited the Week 4 contest with an ankle injury. Patterson had 43 rushing yards on just seven carries, while Harris managed only 19 yards on 13 carries. Hopefully, Harris can channel his pregame frustrations into better rushing attempts, as this was one the worst displays in his career.

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