There was a lot of interest in the Green Bay Packers heading into their first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. People were interested to see how the young Packers would react to their first game action. If this game was a sign of things to come, Green Bay is going to surprise a lot of people once the regular season rolls around.
The Packers had a convincing victory over the Bengals on Friday night, coming away with a 36-19 victory. While preseason games don’t count officially, Green Bay has to come away feeling really good about how they performed.
One of the biggest takeaways was how well Jordan Love played. He was on the field for two series, 12 plays total, and was excellent. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 46 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown to Romeo Doubs.
After a shaky first season in which he went 2-for-4 for 16 yards and the Packers punted, Love led a 43-yard touchdown march before exiting the game. Another storyline people were keeping an eye on was how the young receivers performed.
A difficult decision about the wide receiver depth chart lies ahead for the Packers coaching staff if players continue performing at this level. Dontayvion Wicks, Samori Toure and Malik Heath all caught three passes, going for 68, 56 and 36 yards, respectively. Rookie Jayden Reed also caught his two targets for 20 yards.
In the backfield, it was undrafted rookie Emanuel Wilson who stole the show. He had an 80-yard touchdown run as the big highlight on the night, finishing with six carries for 111 yards and two scores.
Wilson wasn’t mentioned when Matt LaFleur said all of the running backs would have a chance to be featured this preseason, but he made his presence felt with his performance. Patrick Taylor had six carries for only 19 yards, while Tyler Goodson had three carries for two yards and one score. Lew Nichols didn’t register a touch in the game.
Defensively, one star was Carrington Valentine. The seventh-round pick out of Kentucky had an excellent game in his hometown of Cincinnati. He recorded four tackles, three passes defended and one interception, starting in place of the banged up Jaire Alexander.
Coming into the offseason program, many wondered whether Valentine would make the roster as a seventh-round pick. Not only does he look like a lock for the final 53-man, he could be in the starting lineup should Eric Stokes not be ready to go by Week 1 alongside Alexander and Rasul Douglas.
The other interception on the night went to safety Dallin Leavitt. Leavitt has seemingly fallen behind in the battle for playing time at the position with Darnell Savage Jr., Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore ahead of him. But, finishing with four tackles and a pass breakup on top of the interception will certainly get the attention of the coaching staff.
On a down note, the rocky performance of kicker Anders Carlson continued. He made his only field goal attempt of the game, nailing a 45-yarder right down the middle. But, he went only 3-for-5 on extra points.
While a lot has been made about the Packers going from Aaron Rodgers to Love under center, the biggest adjustment is very likely at kicker. Green Bay knew they could count on Mason Crosby when his number was called but no such confidence has been gained by Carlson in the early going.
