The Packers elevated LB Keshawn to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.  The team signed Punter Pat O’Donnell to the PS but when Whelan was healthy enough to play, they left O’Donnell on the PS.  The Packers never placed Enagbare on the injured reserve.

The healthy scratches were Caleb Jones, Malik Heath, Enagbare, Sapp, and LB Brenton Cox.  It is interesting that the team elevated Banks while leaving Cox inactive given the loss of Enagbare.  AJ Dillon was the other inactive player due to his thumb.

Overall, the offensive line more than held their own against an extremely talented and well-paid defensive front seven, particularly in the first half.  They ran the ball well in the first half.  Aaron Jones carried the ball 11 times for 49 yards, a 4.5-yard average with a long of 10.  San Francisco had just one tackle for loss all game.  The sledding got much tougher in the second half as Jones gained 59 yards on 7 carries, with a long of 53.  That means his other 6 carries in the second half gained just 6 yards. 

The pass protection was pretty good.  Jordan Love was sacked just once and hit 6 times (5 times by Nick Bosa).  Those numbers are modest, but San Francisco got pretty consistent pressure and maintained good lane integrity.  When Love escaped the pocket a few times he was running away from the line of scrimmage (which usually means a throwaway) or parallel to it.  When he escaped wide and was able to run towards the line of scrimmage, he either couldn’t find a wide receiver or was unable to turn upfield.  Converting third and shorts still is dicey on the ground. 

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  The line’s performance has improved so much that I might have to rethink the team’s needs (or at least their urgency) for the draft and off-season.  I still think that an upgrade in personnel is important.  Plus, Green Bay will probably lose Nijman and Runyan unless they re-sign them, so finding more depth also seems appropriate.  The Packers gave Runyan the lion's share of the snaps (47-20) if that is indicative of how they view Rhyan for 2024. They need a starting guard, a swing tackle, and a utility interior offensive lineman.  

Aaron Jones looked dynamic.  He averaged 6.0-yards for the game and showed how he can turn creases into solid gains and holes into chunk plays.  He was ineffective in the passing game, catching 3 of his 6 targets for 8 yards with a long of 6.  That might be due to the prowess of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.  Emanuel Wilson looked competent, gaining 16 yards on 4 carries.  Taylor played more snaps than Wilson but did not get a carry.    

OFFSEASON OUTLOOK:  Wilson did not do enough to project him as more than a third stringer. He still doesn't play on special teams  Dillon is a free agent and Jones has a $17.028M cap number in 2024.  The Packers either need to find a way to retain Jones or find a starting running back.  Dillon is not a good starter and Taylor is just a guy.

The tight ends had a quiet game, as the Packers only got 27 yards out of this group, but it was a busy game for them.  Kraft had an interesting game.  He caught 3 of his 6 targets for 9 yards.  The pass that was intercepted after he tipped it up into the air was way behind him.  He was repeatedly asked to execute reach blocks on Nick Bosa, few of which (none?) found success.  It did seem as if Bosa read the play pre-snap as at least twice he crashed hard inside immediately.  Few TEs lined up on his outside shoulder can execute that block.  Kraft also was in a beautiful position downfield to block for Jayden Reed on a reverse but failed to block the DB who tackled Reed.  Reed still got 9 but this looked like a possible huge play.  Musgrave caught 3 of 4 passes for 14 with a long of 9.  Sims caught a pass for 4 yards.

OFFSEASON OUTLOOK:  Deguara is a free agent but he is unlikely to return.  Tyler Davis is on injured reserve with an ACL and he will be a free agent.  Ben Sims should get a look again but the Packers will be on the lookout for some depth on a low-priority basis.

Love completed 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and a 72.4 passer rating.  He gained 3 yards on 5 rushes.  Love wasn’t sharp, but this game made him throw into a lot of tight windows.  He also had to try to get passes over the out-stretched arms of linebackers who had gotten great depth and drop it down before the DBs could make a play on the ball.  I don’t think there was enough room to do this, but, in any event, it was a problem all night.  I would add that Brock Purdy also faced linebackers who got very good depth and he also fared poorly.  Love also just missed a few.
 

OFFSEASON OUTLOOK:  It is bright.  The starter is obvious.  I did not see enough of Clifford to have an opinion on whether the Packers would look for significant competition for the backup job.  Clifford looked interesting in training camp and better in preseason games.

Doubs caught 4 of his 6 targets for 83 yards with a long of 38 to lead the Packers.  He ran some nice routes and also was schemed open.  He continued to double-clutch some of his receptions but he did not have a drop.  He also went out of bounds rather than take a hit to get a handful of extra yards for the second game in a row.  I assume that he is doing that due to his recent chest injury which caused him to cough up blood.

Reed caught all 4 of his targets for 35 yards, with a long of 27.  Melton caught his only target for a 19-yard touchdown as he was wide open.  Watson caught 1 of his 2 targets for 11 yards.  Wicks was targeted twice but had no receptions.  Watson and Reed were not productive but they did throw some mean blocks on Edge players.  

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  The Packers have no need to look for depth as they have 5 or 6 wide receivers who belong in the NFL, and several who can be #2 WRs.  They did not have a consistent, do-it-all #1 WR this year.  They might easily project several of their current receivers in this role.  Since the Packers will draft 25th, I expect the top WRs to be gone, and they have too many other positions that need a talent infusion to use a premium pick on a WR.

The Packers allowed 111 yards on 24 carries for a 4.6-yard average.  They did a pretty good job on McCaffrey who gained 98 yards on 17 carries, a 5.6-yard average.  Savage was in good position to make a tackle on McCaffrey for a modest gain but missed, allowing McCaffrey to scamper for a 38-yard touchdown.  Without that play, McCaffrey averages about 3.7 yards.  There were also some other missed tackles.  On consecutive second down plays on their TD drive in the first half, missed tackles turned what should have been 3rd and 5s into 3rd and 1s.  

Kenny Clark had a very good day with 5 tackles (2 solo) and a half sack.  He blew up some plays that allowed other players to clean up.  Clark usually plays very well during the playoffs. Karl Brooks had a lot of pressures, perhaps 5 or so, on just 16 snaps.  He sometimes lined up at Edge or End with his hand in the dirt, as did Wooden.  Brooks had just 1 assisted tackle and Wooden had none with a QB hit and a blocked field goal.  Slaton had 4 tackles (3 solo) and got some push at times, while Wyatt had 1 solo tackle.

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  This is another unit that has been much better for the last handful of games.  I do think it could use reinforcements, though the draftniks tell me it isn’t a stellar year for defensive linemen in the draft.  Clark and Slaton will be in contract years, and it often takes defensive linemen a year to acclimate to the NFL.  That bodes well for Brooks and Wooden.  Wyatt was on pace to lead this unit in snaps but he left the game with an injury.  Adding a lineman on day one or two makes sense if the draft cooperates.

Walker had 9 tackles (5 solo) including a tackle for loss. He missed a tackle and got fooled on another, but he was physical and got good depth when he dropped back into coverage.  Campbell had 8 tackles (5 solo), a QB hit, and a pass defensed.  He looked solid to me, and interestingly got more snaps that McDuffie, who had no statistics.  McDuffie did bring physicality to the table including that hard bump on Kittle to re-direct his route and ruin the timing.  Wilson jumped on a fumble and played special teams.

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  Devondre Campbell’s return is up in the air.  He is due almost $10M in cash and carries a $14.2M cap number.  A post-June designation free-up $10.5M in cap space.  The Packers will have to generate a fair amount of cap space somehow.  $10M cash is too much if he is a part-time or rotational player.  On the other hand, while I like McDuffie I don’t see him as a quality season-long starter, though I suppose they could muddle through with him.

Preston Smith had 2 tackles (1 solo), 2 QB hits and a half sack.  He continued to do the dirty work.  Gary had 4 assisted tackles and 1 QB hit.  Green Bay needs more than that.  Van Ness had 2 solo tackles and bull-rushed all day.  This was a lackluster group.

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  Smith is due $12.4M in 2024 and has a cap number of $16.5M.  The Packers can generate $12.4M in cap savings with a June designation.  It is interesting that Cox was inactive with Enagbare out.  The Packers would be okay with Gary, Enagbare (if he comes back healthy, Cox and Smith, but that $12.4M will be tempting.  I note that the Packers did not put Enagbare on IR.  there are roughly 8 contracts from which to extract cap savings: Smith, Campbell, Clark, Alexander, Jones, Bakhtiari, and Gary.

Alexander had 5 tackles (4 solo) and was quite physical.  Ditto for Nixon who had 5 tackles with 3 solo, plus a big kickoff return.  Valentine had 4 tackles (3 solo) and was physical.  His coverage was pretty good.  Savage had 4 tackles (2 solo) and a pass defensed.  Of course, he dropped an interception that hit him in the chest, missed the last tackle on McCaffrey’s long TD run and got beat by Kittle for a TD.  Yet, I think he played really hard and has helped the communication in the secondary.  But those were three huge plays.  Owens was okay.      

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK:  It is anyone’s guess what happens with Savage.  They could take a safety high, or a CB to add to Alexander and Valentine (and Stokes, I suppose).  Two DBs in the first 4 rounds wouldn’t surprise me.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Carlson made two short field goals and missed a 41-yarder.  Whelan was fine and did a good job on a bad snap.  Nixon had one huge kickoff return and another nice one.  Coverage teams were good.

RB: 1.0

TE: 1.37

WR: 2.63

DL: 2.39

ILB: 1.89

OLB: 1.89

DBs: 4.76

Statistics courtesy of NFLgsis

Photo courtesy of Dan Powers, USA Today