Packers Stock Report: Risers, Fallers After Victory Over Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Green Bay Packers took to the road looking for their first road win of the season, taking on the Arizona Cardinals. These two teams have had some wild matchups in the past, and Sunday’s game was no exception.

The Packers tied the game at 20 with 14:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, and they took a 27-23 lead on Josh Jacobs’ 1-yard touchdown plunge with 1:50 to go. A last-gasp drive from the Cardinals was derailed by a Micah Parsons sack and two incompletions, which allowed the Packers to escape Arizona with a 27-23 victory.

Here’s our stock report, starting with the two heroes of the day.

Rising: RB Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs was not even sure if he was going to play in Sunday’s game. He was questionable on the injury report with a calf injury that happened at Friday’s practice. He had to do a workout before the game to determine if he could play.

It looked like he might have been on a pitch count in the first half, but the second half was a different story. Jacobs scored two touchdowns and looked like his spry, tackle-breaking self throughout the second half. That included a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Packers a 27-23 lead.

With 13 carries for 55 yards, it wasn’t the gaudy stat line that the team has become accustomed to, but it was the type of gritty performance the team needed on a day it was not playing its best football.

Parsons got a gameball.

Rising DE Micah Parsons

What an odd day for Parsons on both sides of the coin.

Green Bay’s big offseason acquisition did not wait long to make his mark. Arizona’s opening drive did end with a field goal, but without Parsons it easily could have been a touchdown. Parsons had a pressure on Jacoby Brissett early, a tackle for loss on a run play in a goal-to-go situation and a drive-ending sack on third down.

It looked like he had another sack in the second quarter, but it was nullified due to a rarely called hip-drop tackle. The hip-drop penalty had been called twice since it was first instituted last year. It had only been called one other time this season.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Micah Parsons (1) celebrates a sack against the Arizona Cardinals. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Earlier in the week, Parsons had some words to say about how defensive players are officiated, regarding how often he is held on pass-rush attempts. In a cruel twist of irony, it was Parsons who was called for a penalty.

In another twist of irony, on the next series, Parsons drew a holding penalty on Cardinals left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.

The flag fest was not over from there, Parsons jumped offsides on a third-and-9 that gave the Cardinals a free play and another shot at the end zone. That’s been a problem for him this season. The first play following the penalty by Parsons was complete to Trey McBride for a touchdown.

The Packers trailed 13-6 at halftime as a result.

Parsons is a great player. He was incredibly disruptive with six pressures in the first half according to PFF, but the small mistakes are the difference in games like these. As one of the team’s best players, he cannot continue to make those mistakes.

Late in the game, however, is where the money is made.

With just under 10 minutes to play, the Cardinals were facing a third-and-goal at the Packers’ 10.

The score was 20-20, and a touchdown would not allow the Packers’ offense to pace what had turned into a shootout in the desert. Parsons, after narrowly missing a sack on second down, beat Jonah Williams around the edge and buried Brissett for a 14-yard loss.

Parsons sacked Brissett again on the final drive of the game with the Cardinals rolling toward a potential game-winning touchdown. He finished the day with three sacks, his first multi-sack game as a Packer and the first three-sack game of his career.

Rising: K Lucas Havrisik

Who knows how long Green Bay’s substitute teacher turned kicker is going to be here, but Lucas Havrisik has made his mark in his first two games with zero missed kicks.

Last week, it was a field goal to put the Packers ahead 27-18 and ice the game for all intents and purposes. This week, he just set a franchise record at the end of the first half.

With the Packers reeling, trailing 13-3 after a touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Trey McBride, Green Bay’s offense was not content to just let the clock run out.

Jordan Love found Romeo Doubs for 22 yards to put the Packers in position to kick a field goal and get some points for the half.

It was from 61 yards. Havrisik made it with room to spare, to give the Packers a spark heading into the break.

The previous record was held by Mason Crosby, who kicked a 58-yard bomb at the Metrodome in 2011.

As coach Matt LaFleur said, “I didn’t envision that going into the game, but he’s done a hell of a job.”

After years of searching for Crosby’s replacement and ending up in the wilderness for kickers, the Packers now might have two guys they can rely on.

Rising: LB Edgerrin Cooper

With 5:51 left in the game, the Cardinals lined up to go for it on a fourth-and-1 from around midfield.

A first down wouldn’t have ended the game, but the clock was becoming a factor for Green Bay’s defense trailing by three. The Cardinals tried a quarterback sneak, which is almost automatic in this era of being allowed to assist the runner.

Green Bay’s defensive line stood tall at the line of scrimmage.

From there, someone needed to make a play.

It was Edgerrin Cooper who threw Jacoby Brissett backward, allowing the Packers to take over on downs.

Green Bay’s offense would also get aggressive on fourth down, converting a fourth-and-2 to Tucker Kraft.

Rising: TE Tucker Kraft

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) scores a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Tucker Kraft was quiet in the first half, which probably led to some of you questioning where he was in the game plan.

The second half? That was a different story.

Tucker Kraft hasn’t gone full Keyshawn Johnson mode of saying to just give him the ball, but he does believe good things happen for Green Bay’s offense if he touches the ball.

That was true throughout the fourth quarter. The first play of the quarter was a play-action pass that found Kraft standing near the goal line for a game-tying touchdown.

Later in the game, the Packers were facing a fourth-and-2 in field goal range. Matt LaFleur decided against kicking a potential game-tying field goal, and dialed up a corner route to Kraft. Kraft beat his man and converted with a 15-yard reception for a first down. Three plays later, Josh Jacobs was in the end zone to give the Packers a 27-23 lead.

Rising: DE Rashan Gary

The conversation surrounding Green Bay’s defense for multiple weeks has been the dearth of takeaways.

Coming into the game, the Packers had not taken the ball away since Xavier McKinney’s interception on Joe Flacco’s desperation heave in Cleveland on Sept. 21. That’s long enough ago to where Flacco was on a different team.

With Green Bay trailing 13-6, and the defense reeling following a 21-yard pass interference penalty on Evan Williams, the Packers needed someone to change the game.

Rashan Gary delivered exactly what the doctor ordered.

Gary broke off his rush inside when Jacoby Brissett moved in the pocket for a strip-sack, which was recovered by Evan Williams.

The strip-sack came after it looked like the Packers had a forced fumble earlier in the game when Keisean Nixon punched the ball out of Marvin Harrison Jr.’s hands. That fumble did not stand. This one did.

Green Bay would cash in the turnover with a touchdown run from Josh Jacobs to knot the score a 13. The score went from a possibility of being 20-6 to tied up in the blink of an eye.

Rising: LB Quay Walker

Walker got off to a rough start with a roughing-the-passer penalty in the first half. It could be argued it was a tough call against him, but that is life in the NFL these days. Walker would make up for it later.

He sacked Jacoby Brissett late in the first half to set the Cardinals’ offense back.

In the third quarter, with the game tied at 13, Walker would come on a blitz and worked through a blitz pickup, which led to another sack that was credited to Kingsley Enagbare, but easily could have gone to Walker.

Either way, the disruption from the linebacker is a welcome sight, as the Packers count on him to do a lot of things in their defense, and they need more disruptive plays from their playmakers.

Falling: First-Quarter Shutouts

This was something that was bound to end eventually, but coming into Sunday’s game, the Packers had not given up any points in the first quarter, outscoring opponents 24-0 in the opening frame.

It took all of one possession for that to come to an end. The Cardinals converted two third downs, one thanks to a roughing-the-passer penalty on linebacker Quay Walker. The opening drive covered 59 yards on 15 plays, but ended with Micah Parsons sacking Jacoby Brissett to force a field goal attempt.

The Packers’ first possession looked like one they were set to answer the Cardinals with a scoring drive of their own.

After an ill-advised run call on third-and-4, Jordan Love missed Romeo Doubs, who had broken open in the middle of the field on fourth down, and the Packers punted.

They trailed 3-0 at the end of one.

Falling: CB Nate Hobbs

When the Packers signed Nate Hobbs in free agency this offseason, they were hoping that they had solved some of their issues in the secondary.

Hobbs was given a four-year $48 million deal to replace Jaire Alexander this offseason. The Packers would not add another cornerback to the roster until the seventh round when the team picked Micah Robinson.

Hobbs missed time in training camp with an injury, and maybe he’s still working his way back from a surgery he had to correct that knee injury.

The early returns, however, are not positive.

Hobbs is often found a step behind in coverage, pushing a receiver out of bounds. He gave up a 22-yard reception to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the second quarter, which put the Cardinals in prime position to kick a field goal to take a 6-3 lead.

Later in the game, with the Cardinals facing a third-and-14, Brissett dialed up Hobbs’ man again, with Harrison beating Hobbs and making a catch for 35 yards, which ultimately led to points for the Cardinals when they looked like they were destined to punt. Later, he missed a tackle on Trey McBride in the open field to allow a touchdown.

His lowest moment of the season came against Dallas at the end of September, when he gave up a couple touchdowns. This game might have been worse.

The Packers insist that Hobbs adds something important to their defense.For now, however, that has not been the case. Hobbs has struggled and not made any big plays to make up for it.

Falling: Situational Defense

The Packers looked like they were in good shape at the end of the first half.

A holding penalty called for Micah Parsons was coupled with a sack by linebacker Quay Walker, setting the Cardinals up in a third-and-23 situation.

If they were able to get off the field on the following play, the Packers had all three of their timeouts at their disposal to try and score a touchdown to take the lead before halftime. Instead, Barryn Sorrell jumped offside, which allowed Jacoby Brissett to take a shot deep down the right sideline.

Zay Jones was on the receiving end of the play, giving the Cardinals 43 yards on the play.

More importantly, it gave the Cardinals new life.

The Packers were not done making mistakes. An offsides penalty on third-and-9 by Micah Parsons gave the Cardinals two shots at the end zone when it looked like they were more interested in ensuring the Packers did not get the ball back.

Brissett would cash in on Parsons’ mistake with a touchdown pass to Trey McBride on the mulligan they were afforded. Instead of a chance to lead 10-6 at halftime, the Packers trailed 13-3 due to poor execution.