Snaps, Stud and Dud from Packers’ Victory at Giants

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If the only thing that matters is winning, the Green Bay Packers took care of business against the New York Giants on Sunday. However, they barely beat a bad opponent and suffered key injuries, as well.

Here’s our weekly analysis of the snaps, along with one stud and one dud from the 27-20 verdict.

Packers Snap Counts on Offense

The Packers played 55 snaps on offense.

Quarterbacks

Jordan Love had played every snap this season until missing seven snaps with an injured left shoulder.

“You get X-rayed, get taped up and see what the severity of it is and if you come back,” Love said. “But it happened on the hit. Lowered my shoulder and he gave me a good pop. So, felt it right away.”

Malik Willis played those seven snaps and cemented his status as a top backup quarterback with an explosive run and touchdown pass. It will be fascinating to see what his market is in free agency.

Running Backs

Stud running back Josh Jacobs suffered a knee injury on the series that ended with Malik Willis’ touchdown pass to Christian Watson. Asked if it was “bad,” a source said no, though he might miss Sunday’s showdown against the Vikings.

With Jacobs limited to 12 snaps, Emanuel Wilson played 39 snaps and Chris Brooks played five. Wilson (on 11 carries) and Jacobs (on seven) rushed for 40 yards, with Wilson running through a big hole for an 11-yard touchdown.

Receivers

With Malik Heath serving what amounted to a one-game suspension – “I’m just going to keep that between our team,” coach Matt LaFleur said – Matthew Golden and Savion Williams battling through injuries that had them questionable on the injury report and Romeo Doubs in and out of the lineup, here was the breakdown:

Christian Watson, 43 snaps; Doubs, 42; Dontayvion Wicks, 31; Golden, 19; and Williams and Bo Melton with two. Doubs caught four passes for 53 yards; he might have about 90 if not for dropped passes. Watson scored two big-time touchdowns.

Williams, who has been dealing with a foot injury for a couple weeks, certainly made the most of his limited playing time with the huge third-down catch for 33 yards on the winning drive. Melton turned on the jets on a 17-yard run.

Tight Ends

Tucker Kraft’s knee injury would be just the opportunity that Luke Musgrave needed. Or not. John FitzPatrick played 35 snaps, Josh Whyle played 20 and Musgrave played 19. It’s easy to understand why. If Musgrave can’t make a play in the passing game, what’s the point of having him on the field?

Offensive Line

If not for Zach Tom missing three snaps, Green Bay’s No. 1 offensive line would have gone the distance. Making his first career start at center, Sean Rhyan played every snap.

“I want a couple of the snaps back and maybe a couple plays, but it's football,” Rhyan said. “The wind was a little windy. It started to rain and I thought, ‘OK, I guess, why not snap the ball in the gun in the rain in the first time?’ So, I don't know, it was fine. It was a little different on the body, just being even-stanced and having to make all the calls and stuff. It was good. Mentally, a little bit more taxing just because you got to make all the calls, but it was good.”

Darian Kinnard played three snaps at right tackle in place of Tom and six as a tight end in jumbo packages. Picking him up for a sixth-round pick before final cuts was a good move.

Packers Snap Counts on Defense

The Packers played 72 snaps on defense.

Defensive Ends

Micah Parsons played 61 snaps, a season high by three. He’s a one-man show far too often. Of the team’s two sacks and five quarterback hits, he had 1.5 sacks and three hits along with a position-group-high six tackles. Next Gen Stats credited him with nine pressures. The rest of the defense had nine.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) with the clinching strip-sack of New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Last week, Rashan Gary barely played more than Kingsley Enagbare. This week, Enagbare did play more – 40 to 39. With Lukas Van Ness inactive for a fifth consecutive game, Barryn Sorrell played 12. Enagbare had a quarterback hit.

Arron Mosby played 18 snaps on special teams and delivered two big hits.

Defensive Tackles

It will never cease to amaze than a healthy Colby Wooden played zero snaps in the first four games of last season. Now, he’s one of the team’s most irreplaceable players. He led the defensive tackles with 48 snaps and four tackles. Karl Brooks played 37 and Devonte Wyatt played 34. For the rookies, Nazir Stackhouse had a 14-6 edge on Warren Brinson.

Linebackers

Edgerrin Cooper played 71 snaps. He had the only tackle for loss that didn’t come on a sack but was back to missing tackles.

With a stinger limiting Quay Walker to 38 snaps, Isaiah McDuffie played 53 snaps – 21 more than in any other game – and added another 19 on special teams. He had a team-high 11 tackles, including a shared sack with Parsons. Meanwhile, second-year player Ty’Ron Hopper played a career-high 12; he had played only eight snaps in the first nine games.

Cornerbacks

Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine played 70 snaps. With two more pass breakups, he is tied for the NFL lead with 14 but gave up too many catches. Nixon was shaken up at least once but played through the pain, so the Packers weren’t forced to go to backups Bo Melton and Kamal Hadden.

Valentine had chances for two interceptions; he somehow wasn’t given credit for a pass breakup on the official stats. Most of Javon Bullard’s 47 snaps came in the slot.

Safeties

Xavier McKinney played every snap, making him a perfect 668-of-668 for the season. Evan Williams, who made the critical interception to save the game, played 66 and tied Nixon for second on the team with eight tackles. Zayne Anderson and Kitan Oladapo got one snap apiece on the final play.

Packers Stud vs. Giants: Christian Watson

Where would the Packers be without Christian Watson? With the two rookie receivers making minimal impacts while dealing with injuries and Jayden Reed on injured reserve, it’s been Watson to the rescue in his four games back from a torn ACL.

Most impressive TD by Watson? pic.twitter.com/YUg4JeOJSR
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 17, 2025

Watson had the fourth multiple-touchdown game of his career. Picking the better of the two might be impossible. On a day when the Packers’ receivers treated the football as if it was covered in Cheez Whiz, Watson made a man-hands catch in the end zone in the second quarter and a leaping catch over two defenders in the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Plus, there aren’t many explosive runs in which Watson isn’t a factor. It’s a good thing the Packers signed him to a one-year contract extension.

Packers Dud vs. Giants: Luke Musgrave

Unless there was an unannounced injury, Musgrave was benched after the opening possession of the third quarter. That drive culminated in the touchdown catch by tight end Josh Whyle; Musgrave was not on the field for it.

Luke Musgrave was targeted twice yesterday. pic.twitter.com/hzjPzlUsZA
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 17, 2025

Given the opportunity to restart a career that began with such promise, Musgrave’s second game as the starter in place of injured Tucker Kraft was a disaster.

He was thrown two passes. The first came on Green Bay’s opening drive of the game. Trailing 7-0 but with the offense having crossed midfield, Jordan Love fired a pass to Musgrave in the left flat. He was tackled in the open field and fumbled out of bounds, which made it third-and-11 and led to a punt.

The other came late in the first half, with Green Bay trying to drive into scoring position. On a play that began with a wayward snap, Musgrave started in pass protection before making himself available in the right flat. Trying to make something out of nothing, Love threw a pass to Musgrave, which appeared to be a catch-fumble but the replay officials changed it to an incomplete pass. Love was sacked on the next play, and that was that.

For a player who was drafted because of his receiving potential, it’s hard to do much worse than turning two targets into a fumble and a drop.

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