Before the game ended with a suspension agreed upon by both coaches, the Packers and the Patriots had a bit of a physical, and penalty-riddled preseason matchup. As we all saw in the headlines joint practice had a few scuffles this week with the Patriots looking like the more physical team. 

The Packers came out and tried to knock down that narrative as they backed up their Quarterback Jordan Love as a minor scuffle broke out after he was hit as he gave himself up on a run with a slide. After this however, things were a bit sloppy. There were a few good things to take away from this game, and a few that really need some fine-tuning. 

Let's get to the recap.

First Quarter:

The Packers opening drive got off to a good start with Jordan Love under center. Aaron Jones started it off with his only snap of the game running for 6 yards before exiting the game to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines. He doesn't need to play Preseason, but it's nice to see him suit up anyway. AJ Dillon then had two runs for a combined 10 yards before a shotgun snap was fumbled and recovered by New England. Jordan Love seemed to call for the snap but was looking away as the ball came in from Josh Myers. Possible mistake by either party, but nonetheless, a bad play and the Patriots take over. Worth noting on this drive, Rasheed Walker got the start at Left Tackle with Zach Tom at the right. Normally this could've been a start for Yosh Nijman, but interesting to see Walker get the nod over him.

With about 12:49 left in the first quarter, the Patriots started off their first offensive drive with Mac Jones at Quarterback from the Packers 18 yard line and were met with a False start to start the game, backed up five yard. After the penalty a pair of catches for Kendrick Bourne got the Pats down to the Green Bay 6 yard line, 1st and Goal. The Packers Defense held firm forcing third down until a Mac Jones incompletion was called for defensive holding on Carrington Valentine in the endzone. Personally I believe it was a bit of a ticky tack call, but it's one you'll likely see on Sundays anyways. The penalty put the Patriots on the Packers 1 yard line where Rhamondre Stevenson was able to score the touchdown and put the Patriots up 7-0.

Jordan Love lead the Packers offense back out where he started off by hitting Luke Musgrave up the middle for a 10 yard catch. An AJ Dillon 3 yard run and an incompletion later, Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs with what looked like a pass on a rope, Doubs making the catch with a defender on his back to get the 1st down seemingly ignited the offense in spirit a bit. But, unfortunately this was the only highlight of this drive as the Packers were then forced into 4th down where they attempted a hard count but had to receive a delay of game before punting to the NE 17. A penalty on NE for Offensive Holding pushed the return back 9 yards so the Patriots would start at their own 8 yard line with 6:50 left in the first quarter.

The Patriots got out to a good start on this drive when on 2nd down Rhamondre Stevenson had a 23 yard rush to the Green Bay 35. However, the Packers defense answered when three plays later Kingsley Enagbare sacked Mac Jones for a loss of 9 yards. Enagbare combined power and speed  putting his right hand on the Tackle's shoulder forcing the lineman back into the Quarterback for the drive-killing sack.

After the punt, the Packers took over on their own 7 yard line with 3:46 left on the first quarter clock. The drive started out with a False Start on Elgton Jenkins and a 4-yard run by AJ Dillon before the Packers got their biggest offensive play of the game at that point. Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs 42 yards downfield but it was initially ruled incomplete. Packers coach Matt LaFleur then emphatically threw the challenge flag and he was successful as the call was reversed. This placed the ball at the 50 yard line with Green Bay now cooking. The very next play Jordan Love took off on an 11 yard scramble. As Love slid to give himself up, Patriots DT Sam Roberts came in diving on top of Love which ignited tensions. The entire Green Bay Offensive Line came to the aid of their Quarterback and a scuffle ensued. Roberts was later called for a 15-yard Unnecessary Roughness penalty, placing the ball at the NE 24 with 2:29 left in the quarter. It was great to see the Packers line show up in defense of their Quarterback. When you have a new starting QB like Love you want to make sure the line has his back, and they certainly did there. After a 5-yard AJ Dillon run, Jordan Love threw a dart to rookie WR Jayden Reed who made a great catch for the touchdown and his first Lambeau Leap. The game now tied at 7-7.

The Patriots then had a good kick return bringing them to their own 39 to start their drive with 1:37 left in the first quarter. On 2nd down Colby Wooden got a great push stop for no gain, but the following play Mac Jones hit Demario Douglas for a 15 yard gain to sustain the drive. After another short 2-yard pass to Douglas, this was the end of the 1st Quarter.

Second Quarter:

The second quarter started out with an incompletion for the Patriots when Safety Justin Owens gave a little bit of a fake blitz before jumping back in coverage to bat down the pass. The Patriots saw redemption from this though when Mac Jones hit Kendrick Bourne on a 17 yard pass placing the ball on the Packers' 27 yard line. But that redemption was short-lived. Kingsley Enagbare made his presence felt again when he came on the rush from Jones' blindside batting the ball out of Jones' hand for the sack-fumble and then Enagbare recovered the ball as well at the Packers 38-yard line.

Sean Clifford then took over at Quarterback for the Packers with about 14:15 remaining in the second quarter. It was the Emanuel Wilson show once again as the young back handled the football five straight plays. One catch for 14 yards and then four runs for 28 yards. This placed the Packers at the New England 23 with 11:52 left in the second. Wilson definitely making his presence known in the battle for the third running back position again. On 2nd and 9 following the runs, Clifford hit Malik Heath for 10 yards. Heath with a great stop and turn-around, shook the defender losing the tackle and getting the 1st down. After a 5-yard penalty on the Patriots of illegal user of hands, Patrick Taylor headed on a rush to the left side dancing his way into the endzone for the 8-yard touchdown. The Packers then caught a delay of game penalty on the extra point to be enforced on the kickoff. But the extra point was good, and the Packers now lead 14-7.

Bailey Zappe then took over as the Quarterback of the Patriots with 9:46 left in the second quarter. Zappe would remain the QB for the rest of the night. The only highlight from this drive came on 1st down when Lukas Van Ness set the edge and was able to get the tackle on Patriots running back Kevin Harris for no-gain. Otherwise, after going three and out, the Patriots punted.

The Packers took over at their own 17 with 8:44 left in the second quarter. Second down saw Sean Clifford with a great throw and a catch by Grant DuBose for 21 yards to the Packers 40. Clifford decided he was going to show his blocking abilities the very next play when he threw a block on a NE defender springing Emanuel Wilson for 7 yards. After this however, the Packers drive started to stall. Minus a fourth down conversion run by Patrick Taylor, the Packers were later forced to punt with 3:03 left in the second, pinning the Patriots at their own 15 yard line.

The Packers defense thought they were getting off to a good start when on second down, rookie Karl Brooks sacked Bailey Zappe for a 7 yard loss. This was negated however, by an illegal contact penalty on Shemar Jean-Charles for illegal contact. This gave the Pats an automatic 1st down. The Packers then forced three incompletions however, yet another penalty was called when Kiondre Thomas was called for what I'm going to say, was a terrible Pass Interference call. I felt it was more instigated by the receiver, but nonetheless, the call goes in favor of the Patriots putting their offense at the Packers 42 yard line with 1:08 left in the Half. On a pass deep right to Tre Nixon, rookie Safety Anthony Johnson Jr. came over the top to make a great pass breakup. This great play was short lived though when Bailey Zappe hit Kayshon Boutte for a 42 yard touchdown. It looked like Packers CB Carrington Valentine went to make a play on the ball but just got beat as Boutte took off for the endzone tying the game at 14-14 with 0:56 remaining in the half.

The Packers took over at their own 9-yard line after a holding penalty backed them up on the kickoff. On 2nd down a Sean Clifford pass deep for Malik Heath was intercepted, however it was negated for pass interference on Pats defender Christian Gonzalez. This placed the ball at the Packers 32 with 0:40 left in the half. Sean Clifford then put on a bit of a short-passing show to get the Packers into Field Goal range at the NE 34 yard-line with only 0:10 remaining in the half. Rookie Kicker Anders Carlson then came out for a 52-yard attempt and nailed it. The young kicker absolutely drilled the attempt leaving room to spare for a longer distance. The Packers were now up 17-14 with 0:01 remaining in the half. A Patriots kneel-down would then end the half. 

Third Quarter:

The third quarter started with the Patriots on Offense. Carrington Valentine made a nice play on 2nd and 7 for the NE 23 breaking up a pass with a hit to the receiver, but this became all for not when the very next play Valentine was called for Defensive Pass Interference placing the ball at the NE 37. It was a bit of an up and down night for Carrington Valentine with lots to learn from. On 2nd and 10 with about 11:40 left in the 3rd quarter, Keshawn Banks nearly had an interception going the other direction when he jumped a screen pass. Instead it was only tipped but great play recognition by Banks to break up that play. The next play Karl Brooks showed his face again rushing Bailey Zappe to an incompletion and forcing a Patriots punt.

The Packers took over with 11:24 left in the third and seemed to get off to a good start with an 8-yard Emanuel Wilson run and a nice Malik Heath 15-yard reception. But they were then forced to punt. After a penalty for offensive holding on NE, the Patriots would take over at their own 22 with 8:49 remaining in the third.

The Patriots then put on a methodical drive. They just kept running at the Packers with short runs and short passes absolutely exhausting the defense. The only real highlight for the Packers might've been another showing by Karl Brooks when he made a good stop on Pat's RB Kevin Harris for a 1-yard loss. Three plays later however, the Patriots faced 4th and 2 from their 6-yard line. After Packers Linebacker Brenton Cox stumbled on the play, Bailey Zappe was able to head on a QB scramble for 6 yards and practically walk into the endzone. The Patriots lead 21-17 and that was the end of the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter:

The Packers took over at their own 23-yard line to start the fourth quarter. On a 3rd down conversion off a 3-yard Emanuel Wilson run, Packers Center Jake Hanson was hurt. It was revealed to later be a shin injury as newcomer from a few weeks back, Center Cole Schneider took over in the middle of the line. After a timeout for the injury with 13:37 left in the 4th, Clifford hit Malik Heath yet again, this time for 25 yards to the Patriots 40-yard line. Following this play there were two runs from Emanuel Wilson combining for 9-yards and a nice leaping catch by Cody Chrest for 6 yards.

A few plays later though, the Packers were faced with 3rd and 7 at the New England 25 when Sean Clifford hit Malik Heath again, this time for 7 yards and a 1st down. Unfortunately, there was a scary injury on this play to the Patriots' Isaiah Bolden. He collided with his teammate while attempting to make the tackle and appeared to sustain a neck injury. After laying motionless on the field for a bit, Bolden had to be carted off. Players obviously shaken by this, and the remainder of the game being only 10:29 of meaningless Preseason football, Packers coach Matt LaFleur and Patriots coach Bill Belichick elected to suspend and end the game.

The Final score after the suspension was 21-17 in favor of the Patriots.

Offensive Player of the Game:

I'm giving the Offensive Player of the Game to Malik Heath. Heath had some outstanding catches in this game and showed why coaches have been talking about him a lot after practice. Heath hauled in 5 catches on 5 targets for 75 yards. He will certainly make roster cuts interesting in a few weeks as this performance will need to be considered.

Defensive Player of the Game:

The Defensive Player of the Game is going to Kingsley Enagbare. Without question Enagbare will be in the EDGE rushing rotation this season. Tonight he put together 2 big sacks including a sack-fumble and fumble recovery. He was an absolute animal in the action he saw. 

What Went Right:

The Defensive front looks stout. The addition of Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden is only going to make them better. Both those guys were everywhere breaking up plays and forcing their way into the backfield. There's a lot of hope that those two alongside TJ Slaton and Devante Wyatt are going to help break Kenny Clark free to show the true game-breaker he is.

What Went Wrong:

Penalties in the secondary. The Packers were penalized a total of 11 times for 85 yards. A good majority coming from pass interference and defensive holding. Carrington Valentine showed out last week, but he showed this week that his physicality and play-making tendencies can sometimes be a fault. He has to be cleaner.

Another "What Went Wrong" has to go to the injury to Isaiah Bolden. You never like to see a player get hauled off the way he did causing the game to be ended. Here's to hoping his injury isn't very severe and he makes a full recovery.

Next week we move on to Preseason Week 3 where the Packers will be taking on the Seattle Seahawks. This is a game I will be attending in-person as it will be my three, almost-four year old son's first Packer game. As a result your Game Recap will be a bit delayed as I navigate my way through stadium traffic and make the two-hour ride home. But rest-assured I'll be here!