The Green Bay Packers used two takeaways from Xavier McKinney and two touchdowns from Tucker Kraft to erase a 13-10 halftime deficit, and a late defensive stop — powered by impressive plays from a pair of rookies on fourth down — helped the Packers escape Los Angeles with a 24-19 win over the Rams on Sunday.
Jordan Love and the passing game were inconsistent early but eventually caught fire following a chaotic pick-six. Once again, the Packers offense feels close but still lacks consistency.
Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ Week 5 win over the Rams:
Stars
S Xavier McKinney: He recovered a fumble, creating a game-turning play, and he nearly picked off three passes. On the Rams’ first possession, McKinney diagnosed a deep crosser and met Tutu Atwell at the catch for a pass breakup on third down. Later, he ranged to his right and was in position to catch Matthew Stafford’s pressured overthrow, marking his fifth interception in five games. A drive later, he nearly had his second interception on a leaping attempt of a Stafford pass over the middle. He plays from multiple alignments, gives up nothing in coverage, tackles everything and continually finds the football. McKinney is enjoying an All-Pro start to 2024.
TE Tucker Kraft: His YAC ability has emerged as an elite trait within the Packers offense. He broke at least three tackle attempts on his two touchdown catches — one a 66-yarder in which he showed explosiveness in the open field, and a second on a screen pass in which he weaved through defenders and found the end zone. Later in the second half, he bounced off a tackle attempt after a short catch and converted a first down. Once again, Kraft was valuable as a blocker, especially on the move. He is quickly turning into one of the NFL’s best all-around tight ends.
Studs
RB Josh Jacobs: While it wasn’t a flashy performance, Jacobs’ 20-touch, 94-yard finish was nothing if not effective. He produced a pair of runs over 10 yards and had a 21-yard catch. On the Packers’ 96-yard scoring drive, Jacobs converted three first downs and then creatively bounced outside on his 2-yard touchdown run. Jacobs fought for tough yards between the tackles, and his presence helped create big plays in the run-action game. Of his 20 touches, seven gained a first down or a scored touchdown.
WR Jayden Reed: The third-down drop was a poor play, but Reed also set up three different scores with explosive plays: a touchdown after his 53-yard catch, a field goal after his 18-yard catch and a touchdown after his 11-yard run. He finished with 97 yards on six touches and it should have been more. Rare is the slot receiver who can make an over-the-shoulder catch running full speed 60 yards downfield with three defenders in the area.
LB Edgerrin Cooper: His quickness and closing speed as a blitzer — especially when the Packers bring him on delayed stunts — have been overwhelming. On a third-down sack, he stunted from the A-gap to the edge, came unblocked and lassoed down Matthew Stafford to end a drive. On the game’s decisive play, Cooper looped inside, had a free run and forced a hurried and inaccurate throw. The rookie was also in on a run stop and a tackle for loss, and he wasn’t picked on in coverage.
S Evan Williams: The rookie safety made two run stops, broke up two passes and provided blanket coverage on the decisive fourth down stop. He played fast but under control as a deep safety and aggressive and physical near the line of scrimmage. His coverage wasn’t always perfect, but he played Colby Parkinson tough on a few important targets over the middle. The Packers played him on every defensive snap, potentially signaling a full-time role for Williams moving forward.
DE Kingsley Enagbare: Every game needs a game-turning play, and Enagbare helped provide one. His punch out on Kyren Williams halted the Rams’ first drive of the second half in Packers territory and set up a touchdown drive. Enagbare also had a quarterback hit on Matthew Stafford.
DL Karl Brooks: Playing more snaps in place of Devonte Wyatt, Brooks made three huge plays as a pass-rusher. His pressure on Stafford helped force Xavier McKinney’s interception. He ended a drive with a third-down sack. And his second-down sack of Stafford helped kill the Rams’ final drive. Brooks led the team in pressures.
Duds
WR Dontayvion Wicks: To be fair to Wicks, Jordan Love missed him on two clean routes that should have been easy completions. But the second-year receiver also dropped another pass, and he failed on another contested catch in a big spot on third down late in the game. A false start backed the Packers up inside the 10-yard line before Love’s pick-six. The Packers really need Wicks and Love to start connecting, especially on the layups.
WR Malik Heath: He played 45 snaps, produced only 14 receiving yards on 21 routes run and committed two penalties, including a holding penalty on a run play and a false start on 1st-and-10. It’s possible he would have had a big play on an RPO slant during the Packers’ second to last possession, but the Rams knocked down the ball.
CB Eric Stokes: The Rams picked on Stokes at times. He allowed seven catches into his coverage, including a pair of first-down catches from Jordan Whittington and a touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.
