Studs, Duds for Packers During First Half at Broncos

The Green Bay Packers lead the Denver Broncos 23-10 at halftime on Friday night. Here are the studs and duds.

Stud: RB MarShawn Lloyd

The Packers struck first against the Broncos with a 12-play, 63-yard scoring drive. On third-and-2, MarShawn Lloyd roasted outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman for an 11-yard touchdown. It was a mismatch, and Lloyd took full advantage. He caught the ball at the 8, strolled into the end zone and celebrated as if he were a third-year player who hadn’t scored a touchdown in his career.

More impressive, though, was a third-and-2 earlier in the drive. Drake Dabney had a good block at star outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, which left Lloyd with a one-on-one against elite cornerback Pat Surtain II to get the first down. Lloyd put his shoulder into Surtain and fought for every inch. He needed every inch; Lloyd got the first down after a virtual replay review.

On the second drive, with the backups in, Lloyd ran through an arm tackle by Bonitto for a 7-yard gain and a first down.

“All you guys that have been around know, when players miss time, that’s tough,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said this week. “That’s tough on these guys. They’re young guys, and they want to be out there so badly. You saw Tuck [Tucker Kraft] get out there for the first time the other day; no different than MarShawn.

“When they get out there and they’re playing football, they’re usually at their happiest. And so, whenever you see guys go through things and then get back out there, you can kind of see the joy in them. And I’m happy for him.”

Stud: WR Matthew Golden

On the opening drive, Matthew Golden had a one-handed catch of a slightly off-target pass on fourth-and-1. The 20-yard gain set up the opening touchdown.

Dud: WR Christian Watson

You can’t fumble. Christian Watson fumbled once each of the last two seasons. On the opening series, he was bailed out on a bang-bang play, with review showing Watson’s knee hit the turf the smallest fraction of a second before Watson had the ball ripped out by Patrick Surtain.

Stud: LT Jordan Morgan

New starting left tackle Jordan Morgan had tough duty with a measuring-stick matchup against All-Pro outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.

Morgan did an excellent job, including on the back-to-back passes to Christian Watson to start the drive. On the touchdown pass to MarShawn Lloyd, Morgan didn’t have to protect for long but was a brick wall against Malcolm Roach.

“I think we’re very comfortable with him there,” Gutekunst said. “He’s going to have to go out and do it over a full season and year in and year out. But he’s done a really nice job through the spring, really nice job so far.

“I’m looking forward to getting some more reps here in the preseason and then get ready for the regular season. We think he’s got a super-bright future to be a really good player in this league. I’m sure he’ll go through his ups and downs like they all do at that position because that’s one of those positions where you’re going to have some of that. But I’m excited for him.”

Dud: Edge Rush

This play was indicative of Green Bay’s pass rush against Denver’s offensive line: On the second possession, after Denver picked up a first down, Bo Nix threw downfield but missed Pat Bryant despite having all day.

Lukas Van Ness lined up on the left edge. The matchup was against tight end Evan Engram, which should be a mismatch in Green Bay’s favor but was a mismatch in Denver’s favor in reality.

Stud: Chris McClellan

A rookie is going to lose at times. On third-and-1 at the start of the second possession, a handoff to the fullback gained the first down because veteran right tackle Mike McGlinchey torqued rookie Chris McClellan out of the hole.

Later in the drive, though, McClellan stormed up the middle to force Bo Nix to dump it off to the running back. Then, on third-and-18, McClellan beat veteran left guard Ben Powers’ one-on-one block and limited a draw play to just a few yards.

Early in the second quarter, McClellan drew a holding penalty to ruin a drive.

Duds: Guards

On the first drive, starting right guard Jacob Monk was flagged for holding. On the second drive, backup right guard Donovan Jennings was beaten badly by Malcolm Roach on a failed third-and-6. On the third drive, left guard Jager Burton had a good block but was flagged for holding at the end.

Studs: Special Teams

Yes, special teams.

Pierre Strong had a 68-yard kickoff return to Denver’s 32. Kristian Welch and Thomas Yassmin were among the players with key blocks. That set up rookie kicker Trey Smack’s 51-yard field goal.

“That's just kind of my job,” Smack said this week. “I’ve got to make kicks, so I’ve got to treat it like that's my job, and I’ve got to keep going with that. Build on the confidence part. That's what I'm supposed to do. That's why I'm here. So, that's kind of the way I view it.”

The Broncos had an explosive return on the ensuing kickoff – Smack had the tackle – but the defense held firm and Skyy Moore returned the punt for 16 yards.

Finally, late in the first half, Smack belted a 59-yard field goal. He started to celebrate a nanosecond after the ball left his foot. He’s 4-of-4 from 50-plus yards in the preseason. Then, on the final play, he split the uprights from 43 yards.

Welch had two tackles on special teams, as well.

Stud: WR Will Sheppard

Will Sheppard, who played collegiately at Colorado, had a big-time, toe-tapping touchdown catch on third-and-goal late in the second quarter. The catch came against last year’s first-round pick, Jahdae Barron.

Dud: WR Isaiah Neyor

Isaiah Neyor was flagged for an egregious illegal block in the back before making a tremendous catch on a pass thrown too far in front of him. After that superb catch, Neyor had a bad drop on the next possession.

Stud: CB Kamal Hadden

Kamal Hadden, playing in his first game since last year’s devastating ankle injury, made a pair of open-field tackles. The first was a tackle for loss on a pass and the second was on third-and-10.

Stud: S Mark Perry

In the battle to be the fifth safety, somebody needed to make a play between Mark Perry and Murvin Kenion III. Late in the first half, with the Broncos trying to eat into Green Bay’s lead, Perry jumped Jarrett Stidham’s pass to tight end Lucas Krull and delivered a sensational interception to set up the Packers for one more field goal.

Here are 13 players to watch for the Packers at Denver tonight. The Broncos will play (most) of their starters, so there are some intriguing measuring-stick matchups. ⬇️https://t.co/HhrwqQLrB9
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 21, 2026

Extra Points

- These players were the equivalent of regular-season inactives: edges Micah Parsons and Dani Dennis-Sutton, safety Javon Bullard, running back Josh Jacobs, receiver Jayden Reed, cornerback Carrington Valentine, long snapper Matt Orzech, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, left guard Aaron Banks, offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, and defensive tackles Devonte Wyatt, Jordon Riley and Javon Hargrave.

- Jordan Love was 5-of-7 for 56 yards and one touchdown in his one series.

- Isaiah McDuffie, Zaire Franklin and Hadden had tackles for losses in the first half.

- Jaylin Simpson, who was victimized in slot coverage at Pittsburgh, had coverage to prevent a fourth-and-4 completion late in the first half.

The final stretch is here for the Packers, with a game at Denver tonight, a joint practice against Arizona on Wednesday and the final preseason game against Arizona on Friday.

Who's rising? Falling? Here's our pregame Packers stock report. ⬇️https://t.co/d492ZFEM2T
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 21, 2026

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