The Good, Bad And Ugly Of The Green Bay Packers’ Preseason Loss To San Francisco

When you last saw the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco was writing — then delivering — their eulogy.

The 49ers came to Lambeau Field for an NFC divisional playoff game and rallied for a 13-10 win that ended the Packers’ season.

The teams met again Friday in their first exhibition game. And while both sides played primarily backups, the result was the same.

San Francisco fourth string quarterback Brock Purdy threw a 5-yard touchdown to Tanner Hudson with 8 minutes left to lift the 49ers to a 28-21 win.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from Green Bay’s loss:

THE GOOD

OFFENSIVE LINE: The Packers’ No. 1 offensive line has been up and down this summer as they operate without Pro Bowlers David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins (ACL injuries for both).

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur wanted a better look at his top unit Friday, and played them for the majority of the first half.

From left, Yosh Nijman, Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Jake Hanson and Royce Newman played the majority of the first half. Late in the second quarter, Zach Tom was inserted at right tackle, Newman slid to guard, Hanson moved to center and Myers left the game.

Overall, the revamped front five more than held their own against a 49ers’ group that played several starters on defense for two or three series.

Quarterback Jordan Love was not sacked in the first half and the Packers piled up 247 total yards.

“You guys have heard me say it a million times, as far as a leadership role, absolutely, I think it’s easy to point to Dave and Elgton who have been so instrumental in our success here and are great players and we’ve got a lot of young guys,” LaFleur said. “Although we do feel good about the group, there’s still a lot of growth in front of them.”

On Friday, that group took a nice step.

JORDAN LOVE: If you simply glance at the stat sheet and see Love threw three interceptions, you’ll wonder how he ended up in this category.

Here’s why.

The first two interceptions came after drops by tight end Tyler Davis and rookie wideout Romeo Doubs. On the third, Love made a poor choice trying to force a ball to Amari Rodgers. But LaFleur said on that play, Green Bay had two receivers run the wrong route.

In between, Love threw a pair of touchdowns — a 33-yarder to Doubs and a 33-yarder to Danny Davis. He also completed 13-of-24 passes for 176 yards, despite the fact the Packers had all of their starting skill players inactive.

“Well, those were three unfortunate interceptions,” LaFleur said at halftime. “We had basically two drops and then on the other one, we had two receivers run the wrong route.

“So, I thought there was a lot of good. He moved the ball, he pushed the ball down the field. Yeah, sure, there were a couple throws I’m sure he’d like to have back. But I thought, all-in-all, it was a solid day. I loved his command and his poise in the pocket.”

AMARI RODGERS: The second year wideout had a dreadful rookie season, catching just four passes and showing little to no burst.

Rodgers, a third-round draft pick in 2021, reshaped his body this offseason with hopes of proving he’s not a bust.

“This offseason, I locked in on getting my body right,” Rodgers said in June. “I lost like six pounds, I lost four percent body fat. Lost all of it my torso, so I feel like I’m getting in that area where I was in college as far as where I want to be to move how I want to, and play receiver the way I should.”

The results were evident against the 49ers.

Rodgers had a 50-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter. In 2021, the Packers averaged an NFL-worst 17.7 yards per kickoff with a long of 41.

Then early in the fourth quarter, Rodgers caught a short pass at the 22-yard line from Danny Etling. Rodgers made a man miss at the 20, juked another defender at the 5 and dove for the pylon for a 22-yard TD that gave Green Bay a 21-20 lead.

Last season, it’s doubtful Rodgers could have made a play like that. Clearly, his productive offseason is already paying dividends.

“He’s in the best shape of his life,” Packers wide receivers coach Jason Vrable said of Rodgers. “His mindset is, ‘I’m going to be the No. 1 guy at all three positions.’ He has that going for him. His route-running is already cleaner and crisper. He’s trained an entire offseason.”

THIS AND THAT: Jack Heflin, fighting for a job on the defensive line, had a big game with four solo tackles. Heflin’s shining moment came in the second quarter when he had a tackle for loss on third down that forced the 49ers to settle for a field goal. … Safety Dallin Leavitt forced a fumble late in the first half that killed a 49ers’ drive. … Running back B.J. Baylor had a 68-yard reception in the third quarter. … Cornerback Kiondre Thomas made a pair of solid plays to stymie a third quarter San Francisco drive. … Rookie seventh round pick Samori Toure was extremely productive with three catches for 42 yards.

THE BAD

SECONDARY DEPTH: Green Bay’s starting secondary could be one of the best in football.

Packer Nation better pray that group stays healthy.

With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Green Bay safety Dallin Leavitt was caught peeking into the backfield. San Francisco wideout Danny Gray raced past Leavitt, quarterback Trey Lance threw a strike and the play went for a 76-yard touchdown and a 10-7 49ers’ lead.

On San Francisco’s next series, wideout Ray-Ray McCloud whipped cornerback Rico Gafford off the line of scrimmage. No one was within 10 yards of McCloud and reserve quarterback Nate Sudfeld lofted a 39-yard TD to the veteran wideout.

If players like Leavitt and Gafford make the 53-man roster, it will be due to their special teams prowess. But the fact both players have been liabilities from scrimmage throughout their careers — and were so again Friday — won’t help their bids for roster spots.

TYLER DAVIS: Robert Tonyan (ACL) can’t get healthy fast enough.

Davis is a converted quarterback who’s the frontrunner to be Green Bay’s tight end in Week 1. But he didn’t help his cause Friday.

The Packers had a first-and-goal from the 49ers’ 14 and lined up three pass catchers on the right. Davis, who started on the far right, took three steps and broke inside.

Love threw a fastball that hit Davis in the hands and bounced up in the air. San Francisco’s Marcelino McCrary-Ball intercepted the pass and raced 57 yards to the Packers’ 39.

Love was charged with an interception on the official stat sheet. But make no mistake, this was pick was on Davis — and only added to the narrative that Green Bay doesn’t have a starting caliber tight end without Tonyan.

THIS AND THAT: Green Bay’s special teams gave been comically bad for years now and ranked dead last in the NFL last season. The Packers brought in veteran special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia this offseason to try upgrading the pathetic units. So what happened on the opening kickoff? Green Bay was called for holding. … Gabe Brkic, who’s handling the kicking duties until Mason Crosby (knee) returns, missed a 32-yard field goal that was at least 10 feet left. … Green Bay lost the turnover battle, 3-1.

THE UGLY

WHERE ARE THE “REAL” PACKERS? OK. We understand the need to keep your people healthy.

But game by game, year by year, NFL teams take it to new extremes. Green Bay certainly did that Friday.

The Packers had 33 players that did not dress, and only seven of their projected starters were active.

Rookie linebacker Quay Walker was the only starter on defense to suit up. On offense, all of Green Bay’s starting skill players were inactive, although the Packers’ starting offensive line did play.

A year ago, Green Bay’s front-liners played little, if at all, in the preseason. Then in Week 1, the Packers were drilled by New Orleans, 38-3.

Apparently, Green Bay believes that was an aberration, as most if its starters were back on the bench Friday.

“When you have a stinker like we did last year in Week 1, there’s always going to be the second-guessing of what happened in training camp — should we have played more, should we have played the first game, the second game, whatever it might be,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I don’t want to overreact to that. Matt (LaFleur) doesn’t either.”

General manager Brian Gutekunst agreed.

“We’ll start having some conversations about, ‘Hey, maybe we need to see a little bit more of this and maybe we don’t need to see as much of this,’ ” Gutekunst said. “I’ve got a lot of Ted Thompson in me.

“I’m seeing some of these guys out there who are really eager and playing really well right now and you want to bubble wrap them until September and stock them away and we’ll let a bunch of these other guys get some more opportunities because we know what some of these guys can do.”

While that philosophy has merit, there is certainly the risk of Green Bay repeating last year’s Week 1 clunker.