The Denver Broncos drubbed the Green Bay Packers 27-2 in Week 2 of the preseason. It was an ugly game for the Green and Gold, and it’ll be difficult to find positives from the tape. The game mostly highlighted Green Bay’s most pressing underlying issues.
The Packers were without most of their starters, including Jordan Love. Their first-round rookie, Jordan Morgan, didn’t play, and the offensive tackle depth has been worse than expected. Their backup quarterbacks were questionable. The kicking competition didn’t get easier, and the fifth wideout spot looks more up for grabs than ever.
Andre Dillard has struggled at right tackle but has been solid at left tackle. Dillard has a 90.2 PFF pass-block grade at left tackle this preseason and has not allowed a single hurry, hit, or sack. That’s good as a backup option to incumbent starter Rasheed Walker.
Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk have been solid interior options at guard and center, but Green Bay’s tackle depth has been questionable. The Packers didn’t get a chance to see Morgan at tackle, but he’ll likely start on the interior.
Dillard may be a solid backup for the left tackle spot, but the Packers could be in trouble if Zach Tom goes down with an injury. The Packers would probably slide Elgton Jenkins to right tackle and have Monk or Rhyan fill in at left guard. Morgan could be a plan for that right tackle spot, but the Packers have liked him as a guard so far in training camp and preseason.
Sean Clifford led Green Bay’s offense in the first half. They failed to put together a complete drive, and Clifford threw an errand interception. Clifford had a brutal 30.4 quarterback rating. The Broncos played some of their starters early in the game. Still, even when those guys subbed out, Clifford struggled with Denver’s defenders. Michael Pratt didn’t play much better, completing only 10 of 16 passes for 52 yards. Neither quarterback had a good day or led the Packers’ offense to any points.
The Packers have Clifford at QB2 and Pratt at QB3. Neither quarterbacks have put themselves in a better position to earn the backup quarterback job. Green Bay may see this performance and look into the veteran quarterback market for a backup quarterback to play behind Love.
Green Bay’s offense didn’t do enough to put their kickers in a position to make kicks. The only kick the Packers attempted was Greg Joseph’s 47-yarder, which went wide right.
The Packers have had a close battle in their kicking competition between Joseph and Anders Carlson. However, neither has proven that they deserve the job. Time is running out for one of Green Bay’s kickers to prove that the Packers can rely on either of them this season.
It seemed like Bo Melton was a lock for the roster. However, after his preseason performances, his spot on the depth chart may be beginning to loosen up. None of Melton, Grant DuBose, and Malik Heath proved anything with this game.
DuBose had the most momentum coming into this game. A breakout last week would have gone a long way for DuBose’s roster chances to build on his previous performance. Instead, DuBose had a zero-catch performance against Denver.
Melton was not much better. The third-year wideout only had two receptions for 10 yards. Melton has not been productive in either preseason game. While Melton was awesome in the last few weeks of the season in 2023-23, he’s not showing much this preseason.
Heath had his moments last season but was quiet last week and relatively quiet this week. He may have had the best week of the Packers receivers. Still, it was disappointing overall. Heath led the Pack with three receptions for only 22 yards.
True, this was only a preseason game. Many of these issues are not worth losing sleep over. Still, a poor performance raises valid concerns about the depth of the offense and the kicking competition, one that we can’t easily dismiss. It’s not time to hit the panic button — the Minnesota Vikings may actually have already worn the panic button out — but this exhibition against the Broncos shows the Packers have work to do to live up to their lofty expectations.
All stats and data via ESPN or Green Bay Packers unless otherwise noted.
