With Rodgers and many more on the bench, Packers beat Texans in preseason opener
Speaking a couple weeks before the start of training camp, Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy’s words rang true for Thursday night’s preseason opener against Houston.
“As I look at the overall NFL, one of the worst things we do is our preseason,” Murphy said in previewing the team’s financial report on July 12. “The games are not a positive thing. They are not well-received by fans. They serve the purpose of getting ready for the season but we don’t need all four of them.”
For the first of those four preseason games, Packers coach Matt LaFleur not only kept quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the sideline but he had 26 players on his did-not-dress list. Of the team’s starting/potential starting offensive players, only left guard Lane Taylor and receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison were in the lineup; on defense, only defensive lineman Montravius Adams, inside linebacker Oren Burks and rookie safety Darnell Savage were in the lineup.
Sure enough, even that wasn’t enough to keep the key players out of harm’s way, with Burks exiting on the first series with an injured left shoulder.
For what it’s worth, after two days of joint practices between the teams, the Packers won the inconsequential exhibition 28-26. Tim Boyle threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Brady Sheldon clinched the game by recovering an onside kick.
This was the type of preseason game Murphy was talking about. That starts with who wasn’t in the lineup, an enormous list that included Houston stars Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt. The play, predictably, was sloppy. The Packers were found guilty of seven penalties in the first quarter alone, a 28-penalty pace that blissfully didn’t continue. The tackling, at times, was horrendous. On Houston’s first-half touchdown drive, the Packers unofficially missed five tackles.
Green Bay took advantage of some slop to strike first. JK Scott’s bomb of a punt – 56 yards with 5.12 seconds of hang time – struck returner Keke Coutee and was recovered in the end zone by Packers receiver Equanimeous St. Brown for a touchdown. The Packers made it 14-7 on a sensational, twisting touchdown reception from rising rookie receiver Darrius Shepherd, who held onto the ball despite a wicked hit by veteran cornerback Johnson Bademosi.
The pass closed the book on the night for DeShone Kizer, who got the start for Rodgers and played the entire first half. He finished 8-of-13 for 102 yards and the touchdown, a rating of 111.7.
Green Bay extended its lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter. Chandon Sullivan intercepted Joe Webb and returned the ball to the Houston 3. It took the Packers an eternity to gain those 3 yards to the end zone. J’Mon Moore dropped a fourth-and-goal pass from Boyle, but an illegal-contact penalty gave the Packers a reprieve and a first-and-goal at the 1. After a pair of runs went nowhere, Boyle booted to his right and hit Moore for the touchdown.
After Green Bay got a fourth-down stop, Boyle struck again. First, it was a deep ball to Allen Lazard that resulted in a 40-yard pass-interference penalty. Moments later, Boyle fired a picture-perfect 27-yard touchdown pass to Lazard, with Boyle letting the 6-foot-5 Lazard use his size to make the play.
That ended Boyle’s night. In his battle with Kizer to be Rodgers’ backup, Boyle went 3-of-5 for 40 yards with two touchdowns and a 125.0 passer rating in about a quarter of work. Undrafted rookie Manny Wilkins played the final 12 minutes.
