Don’t bother making assumptions about whether the Green Bay Packers will be good in 2024 based on Sunday night’s preseason game against the Denver Broncos. The Packers were coming off a 27-2 loss on Sunday night, but much of the discrepancy came in the first half, which pitted the Broncos’ starters against the Green Bay Packers’ backups.
In fact, the Packers benched 31 players for the game, including nearly all of the projected starters on the roster. That helped Denver take a 17-0 lead by halftime, when the Broncos defense smothered quarterback Sean Clifford and the Green Bay Packers offense and quarterback Bo Nix led two scoring drives. The Packers only avoided a shutout thanks to a safety by undrafted rookie Zach Morton on the Broncos’ Zach Wilson, while questions remain about the situation of the team’s backup quarterback.
Neither Clifford nor Michael Pratt were convincing in this game, with the two quarterbacks barely leading the offense past midfield. The duo failed to pass for more than 100 yards in the entire game, and Green Bay only managed a meager 168 yards total offense.
Overall, it was almost a lost game in terms of the evaluation of some key spots on the roster. Packers fans who had hoped to see someone rise in the battle for the wide receiver spots further down the roster were probably disappointed with the lack of opportunities for the few players in contention. While Clifford struggled in the first half, Bo Melton and DuBose combined for two attempts and no passes, while Malik Heath caught three of four passes for 22 yards. All three receivers plus Samori Toure played well into the second half, but none of them managed to come anywhere close to pulling away from each other, as Heath’s 3/22 stat line ultimately made him the best receiver of the day.
Particularly illustrative of the offense’s struggles, the most impressive play of the night came from a member of the receiver corps on special teams. DuBose made an excellent tackle in punt coverage late in the fourth quarter, but that was about the high point for a group that had little to nothing to work with for most of the night.
Likewise, the players locked in a kicking competition had almost no chance to impress, and the only chance that arose went awry anyway. The Packers’ first and only place-kick opportunity came in the fourth quarter, but Greg Joseph missed his 47-yard field goal attempt wide right.
With so many key players on the bench – including every single expected starter on offense – the entire secondary was on the field to start the game. On the offensive line, that meant the group of Andre Dillard, Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan and Kadeem Telfort got the first snaps ahead of Clifford.
The unit got off to an unfortunate start as Clifford dropped the ball on the first snap and had to recover and try to get back to the line of scrimmage. However, Clifford was tackled with his face guard, giving the Packers 15 free yards, but he was incomplete on consecutive deep balls to DuBose and Melton, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Broncos took advantage of field position by scoring a field goal after a Bo Nix touchdown pass was called back as Nix was above the line of scrimmage while passing.
With Denver leaving many of its starters on the field in the first half, the Packers’ second defensive unit had quite a difficult task early on. Nix capped his second drive with a touchdown, turning a pass to Tim Patrick into a 2-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive. The Green Bay Packers’ defense forced just one third down attempt in the entire series, as the Broncos marched comfortably down the field, targeting rookie linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper for most of the way.
Clifford’s rough night continued with a brutal third down sack on the ensuing drive when he escaped initial pressure but held the ball too long, losing 12 yards. He had a chance to lead a long drive before the end of the first half and managed to get the Packers over the halfway line with the help of a roughing the passer penalty, but he threw a horrific interception that ended his night. Clifford fought back on third-and-1, throwing a long pass over the middle for tight end Joel Wilson, but his overthrown pass was intercepted by safety Keidron Smith and returned deep into Packers territory. A few plays later, Jarrett Stidham fought his way into the end zone, giving the Broncos a 17-0 lead.
Clifford left the game with a final stat line of 6-10 for 43 yards and the interception. Michael Pratt took over for two plays to end the first half and took over again after halftime, but his performance wasn’t much better.
First, however, it was the Broncos’ offense’s turn to provide the Packers’ defense with some highlights. The first came from defensive end Brenton Cox, Jr. Needing to make a few plays to stay in the running for a roster spot, Cox got a big hit on Stidham, who scored a sack. A few plays later, Stidham knocked a pass off the helmet of one of his offensive linemen, and as the ball flew about 20 feet through the air, linebacker Kristian Welch managed to catch and intercept it. The defense was responsible for the Packers’ only points of the night a little later, when first-year defensive lineman Zach Morton broke free on a stunt and sacked QB Zach Wilson in the end zone for a safety.
Pratt began his night 1-for-3 for minus one yard, but immediately showed more swing in his arm than Clifford. He threw a ball through DuBose’s hands on 4th-and-1 after the interception, made a good read and found his open receiver, but threw the ball too hard. On his next series, however, Pratt was sacked on 3rd-and-3 after holding the football in the pocket for a long time and fumbling the ball to the Broncos.
After the safety, Pratt and Emanuel Wilson finally got the Packers driving down the field as the rookie QB seemed to get into a bit of a rhythm for a drive or two. However, that drive stalled near the 30-yard line, causing Joseph to miss from 47 yards out. Green Bay never seriously attempted to score again after that, failing to get first downs on either of their final two drives.
In total, the Packers crossed the halfway line four times, twice under each of their two quarterbacks, but never got past the Broncos’ 29-yard line. Two of those drives ended in turnovers, another in Clifford’s interception, and the fourth and final one in the missed field goal.
The Packers will have to look to the coming week to decide the various key battles on the roster, and will have another joint practice and their final preseason game, both at home. Their opponents on both days will be the Baltimore Ravens, who will travel midweek for practice on Thursday and a game next Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.
