The Green Bay Packers got touchdown drives from both Jordan Love and Sean Clifford, two drive-ending sacks from Kingsley Enagbare and a long field goal from rookie kicker Anders Carlson before halftime, but the New England Patriots took control in the third quarter and eventually beat the hosts at Lambeau Field in an injury-shortened preseason game on Saturday night.
The Packers, Patriots and the NFL agreed to end the game with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter and New England leading 21-17 after a frightening on-field injury to Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of Green Bay’s suspended preseason game against the Patriots:
The Good
93-yard TD drive: Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs for 42 yards, scrambled for 11 yards, drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness and connected with rookie Jayden Reed for a 19-yard touchdown on the game-tying touchdown drive in the first half. More on the impressive drive here.
K Anders Carlson: The rookie kicker made both extra points, including a longer point after following a penalty, and a 52-yarder right before halftime. The performance is why the Packers keep preaching patience.
OLB Kingsley Enagbare: The second-year edge rusher ended two Patriots drives with sack. The first forced a punt, the second resulted in a strip-sack takeaway. Enagbare could be a Week 1 starter at outside linebacker if Rashan Gary isn’t ready for a full-time role.
Emanuel Wilson’s start: The Packers’ fourth possession started with five straight touches for Wilson creating 39 yards. He produced an 11-yard catch and a 14-yard run, helping move the Packers from their own 38-yard line to the Patriots’ 23. Matt LaFleur said Wilson “ran really hard” and had an “outstanding day.” He finished with 78 total yards on 17 touches.
WR Malik Heath: The undrafted rookie from Ole Miss caught a game-high five passes for a game-high 75 yards. He keeps making plays. His highlight play was a 25-yarder from Sean Clifford in traffic. Heath also drew a penalty and had an 18-yard catch setting up Carlson’s field goal before the half.
DL Karl Brooks: The box score had him with one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit. He also had a sack negated by a penalty. The sixth-round pick has been consistently disruptive. Together, Brooks and fourth-round pick Colby Wooden had five pressures vs. the Patriots.
The Bad
Botched snap turnover: Josh Myers thought the Packers had a free play and snapped the ball early, but there was no penalty and Jordan Love wasn’t ready for the snap. Turnover to end the Packers’ first possession. More from Love and Matt LaFleur here.
11 penalties: The Packers finished with 11 penalties for 85 yards. Zach Tom and Elgton Jenkins both had penalties during the first three drives, and the Patriots earned four first downs via penalty. Rookie Carrington Valentine was flagged twice, including once for holding in the end zone.
Kayshon Boutte’s touchdown: The Patriots tied the game on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Bailey Zappe to Boutte, a rookie receiver. Valentine got beat in coverage, and rookie safety Anthony Johnson Jr. took a bad angle and missed the tackle, allowing Boutte to go untouched into the end zone. Poor play from the two seventh-round picks.
The Ugly
Isaiah Bolden’s injury end the preseason game with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter and provided another frightening reminder of the dangers involved for every player in professional football. Bolden got hit in the side of the helmet by a teammate after a catch by Packers receiver Malik Heath, stayed down on the field for several minutes and was eventually strapped onto a backboard and carted off the field. He spent the night at a Green Bay area hospital but has been released and will travel back to New England with the Patriots on Sunday morning. Coaches Matt LaFleur and Bill Belichick agreed to end the game early, and commissioner Roger Goodell went with the decision. The Packers were driving deep in New England territory for what could have been the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter and will now take the preseason loss, but the result of a exhbition game doesn’t matter. After two joint practices and over three quarters of a preseason game, no one from the Packers or Patriots wanted to continue the contest following such a terrifying on-field injury.
