The Green Bay Packers capped off their preseason with a 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Shane Buechele led the way for the Chiefs with a pair of touchdown passes, despite the Packers producing more in total offense and time of possession. Green Bay scored on just two out of 10 drives, with the final drive ending on a fourth down incompletion from third-stringer Danny Etling at Kansas City’s 19-yard line.
The Packers finished 1-2, but luckily, preseason records don’t mean much. Most importantly, Green Bay now has plenty of film to evaluate to get their roster down to the best 53 players by the August 30 deadline.
General manager Brian Gutekunst will obviously have to make some tough decisions, but first, let’s look at the best and worst performers from Thursday’s loss, according to Pro Football Focus.
Top 5 offense
- WR Samori Toure: 77.1
- C Josh Myers: 71.9
- OT Rasheed Walker: 71.4
- TE Tyler Davis: 71.2
- OT Caleb Jones: 71.1
Rookie Samori Touri ended his first preseason with an impressive six-catch, 83-yard performance. The Packers’ seventh-round draft pick was the team’s leading receiver in the preseason, totaling nine receptions on 13 targets for 125 yards. Touri’s outing against the Chiefs was by far his best of the preseason and arguably the best of any Green Bay receiver during the month of August. Meanwhile, second-year center Josh Myers appeared in only 17 snaps but had an integral block on the team’s only touchdown drive. His pancake against linebacker Jermaine Carter helped spring running back TJ Goodson open on his 24-yard touchdown run and was one of the highlight plays of the day. Also notable, Davis had a solid game after what had been a rocky preseason.
Top 5 defense
- S De’Vante Cross: 87.9
- LB Quay Walker: 71.1
- LB Krys Barnes: 69.8
- OLB Kobe Jones: 66.7
- S Tariq Carpenter: 66.6
Not many standouts here, but Cross did have his best performance of the preseason and could be a candidate for the practice squad. Meanwhile, Walker is starting to look more and more like a first-round pick. His ranginess was on full display on his way to five tackles.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Nate Becker: 43.4
- QB Jordan Love: 46.5
- WR Juwann Winfree: 48.4
- RB Dexter Williams: 48.7
- TE Alize Mack: 51.7
Both tight ends on the list were long shots to make the roster anyway. Interestingly, PFF gave Love such a low grade seeing how he didn’t play all that poorly going off the TV copy. He did throw a bad interception just before halftime but completed over 61 percent of his passes with one drop. Winfree was targeted six times but only had one catch, and Williams allowed a sack in his only rep in pass protection, severely impacting his grade.
Bottom 5 defense
- LB Ty Summers: 28.1
- LB Isaiah McDuffie: 30.5
- DT TJ Slaton: 34.8
- CB Keisean Nixon: 39.8
- OLB Kingsley Enagbare: 46.8
Not a good look for Green Bay’s backup linebackers. Both graded out poorly in coverage as they combined to allow three catches totaling 60 yards. McDuffie had been having a strong preseason with noticeable improvement, but Summers still looks like a special teamer hopeful to sneak on to the initial 53.
Quarterback
Jordan Love: 46.5
Danny Etling: 66.3
This was Love’s worst graded performance of the preseason, which is surprising, considering he threw three picks against the San Francisco 49ers. Love failed to produce a big-time throw against Kansas City after having at least one in his first two outings. Per PFF, he also struggled throwing under pressure, going 1-4 for a single yard. Meanwhile, Etling did complete 76.9 percent of his passes, but only three of his 10 completions went for first downs.
Special teams
Did Green Bay’s special teams somehow get worse? Every Chiefs return seemed to go for good yardage as the Packers missed a preseason-high five tackles. Linebacker Ray Wilborn was responsible for two of them but still wasn’t the lowest-graded special teamer. That honor went to tight end Sal Cannella, who was called for a hold on a punt return. As a whole, the Packers’ special teams looked uninspiring all preseason. They are still having a ton of miscues that need to be corrected to avoid another dismal year.
