Five Positive Performances From Packers-49ers

Winning or losing isn't relevant in the NFL preseason. What matters are positive performances. There were several of those for the Packers in their loss the 49ers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With history and chemistry, Randall Cobb probably will be the Green Bay Packers’ No. 1 option as a slot receiver to open the season.

It’s Amari Rodgers, however, who has the unquestioned upside.

After doing little more as a rookie than create heartburn every time he went back to field a punt, Rodgers provided a glimpse into why the team traded up to get him in the third round of last year’s draft.

In Friday night’s loss at the San Francisco 49ers, turned his one catch into a 22-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 50 yards.

The touchdown came on a quick pass to the left. Rodgers ran through a diving tackle attempt at about the 20, then stayed on his feet and inbounds after getting hit inside the 5.

“I just had a flat route and the nickel blitzed off me, so I knew I had a chance of getting the ball,” Rodgers said. “I saw that and I got my eyes around quick and made the first man miss. The second had a good angle on me. I was thinking about cutting back but I saw his angle so I gave him a little hesitation to see if I could stop his speed and it worked. I just reached out for the pylon.”

On the kickoff return, Rodgers cut back to the left, made one man miss around the 20 and hit the jets.

If you were wondering, the Packers haven’t had a 50-yard kickoff return in a regular-season game since Jeff Janis’ 70-yarder way back in 2015.

“It was well blocked and I think the hardest hit came when he got to the sideline and Rashan Gary knocked him on his butt,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

Here are four more noteworthy performances.

Undrafted Rookies on Offense

The Packers finished with 437 yards. Three undrafted rookies – running backs Tyler Goodson and B.J. Baylor and receiver Danny Davis – contributed 200 yards.

Goodson got the start at running back. While he rushed 12 times for only 37 yards, he quickly hit full speed on a 23-yard screen. Baylor wasn’t much of a receiving threat at Oregon State but made a really good catch on pass from Danny Etling. Having caught the ball at full speed, he turned a short pass into a gain of 68.

Davis, a former standout at receiver at Wisconsin, was on the same wavelength as Jordan Love on a back-shoulder pass that turned into a 33-yard touchdown.

“I try not to get too high or too low,” the understated Davis said. “I understand I’ve got to continue to stack days like this and continue to be the player I want to be. Of course, I’m grateful and it’s a blessing to be able to do that. I’m ready to keep going and build from it.”

Offensive Line

This is a tough one because it was Green Bay’s starting offensive line – or what constitutes a starting line without David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins – facing a bunch of backups.

After being outplayed by Green Bay’s defensive front for most of camp, the No. 1 line really played well against the 49ers. Starting quarterback Jordan Love generally had ample time and the running game, while not great, was effective. Jake Hanson was guilty of two penalties but he otherwise played well at right guard and center.

“I thought our offensive line did a much better job,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I thought they held up really nicely throughout the course of the game. It wasn’t perfect. There were a couple runs that I think we could’ve blocked up a little bit better. But by and large I thought they did a nice job. I was really happy with the effort that the guys gave really in every phase. I thought guys were competing, playing with great urgency, playing with great effort, playing together, nobody was making up their own stuff out there which tends to happen sometimes when you get your first exposure in an NFL football game, a preseason game, and so I by and large the guys did a nice job.”

Defensive Line Depth

With veteran starters Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed and first-round pick Devonte Wyatt inactive, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the Packers’ defensive front pushed around.

Instead, Green Bay’s backups on the line really flexed their muscle. Second-year player T.J. Slaton has been one of the top players throughout training camp and continued that trend on Friday. Plus, two guys who might wind up on the wrong side of the roster bubble, Jack Heflin and Chris Slayton, were active all night. They each had a tackle for loss, a stat that hardly does justice to their performances.

Special Teams

The one area of the game where it was mostly starters against starters was special teams. Other than a holding penalty on the first kickoff return, it was a really good start for coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s “wefense.”

While Amari Rodgers had his 50-yard kickoff return, Pat O’Donnell’s two punts yielded 7 return yards and the kickoff-coverage team allowed a 17.3-yard average on four runbacks.

Taken in totality (and ignoring the missed field goal by a kicker who won't be the kicker in Week 1), it was a strong debut for a special teams unit that was trounced by the 49ers in the playoffs.

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