The Green Bay Packers opened the preseason with a 30-10 loss to the New York Jets. The team played a sloppy game full of penalties, dropped passes and mistakes. The bright spots were few and far between as the Packers were outplayed in all three phases of the game. Here is a look at the winners and losers from the Packers preseason loss to the Jets. This list is far from exhaustive. As with all preseason games, the results should be taken with a grain of salt.

Winners and Losers from the Packers Loss to the Jets, Winner: RB Amar Johnson

Amar Johnson had the biggest highlight of the game for the Packers, a 39-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. No other Packers runner had a run longer than nine yards.

Johnson showed good burst and the ability to keep going after taking a hit. He still faces an uphill battle to make the roster but probably helped his chances of making the practice squad. At the very least, as head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game, “he’ll probably earn some more opportunities next week.”

Loser: OL Jacob Monk

With Travis Glover out for the season due to injury, Jacob Monk has a golden opportunity to earn a roster spot in a crowded offensive line. Unfortunately, he had a terrible game against the Jets. The poor performance included three holding penalties and allowing a sack against the Jets second team defensive line.

Monk has not been getting reps in the competition for the team’s second-string center job which has to be discouraging.

The former Duke star remains on the roster bubble, but he looked absolutely lost out there against the Jets. He’ll need a strong performance in the remaining two preseason games to remain on the roster this season.

Winners and Losers from the Packers Loss to the Jets, Winner: WR Matthew Golden

Matthew Golden started the game with the first-string offense and made the most of his limited playing time. He faced Sauce Gardner, one of the top cover corners in the NFL and held his own. He caught one pass for seven yards on a slant. This was a contested catch and Golden won the battle.

On his other target, Golden drew a pass interference call against Gardner that gave the Packers a first down.

It was a small sample size, but Golden continued to show why the Packers made him a first-round pick, being productive against one of the top cornerbacks in the game. He continues to look like a legitimate candidate to start this season as a rookie.

Loser: WR Romeo Doubs

The Packers were without Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, Savion Williams, and Christian Watson for this game. That gave Romeo Doubs a chance to get extra playing time early in the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.

Doubs failed to catch a pass on two targets. One was clearly a drop. The other was a 50-50 ball that could probably be considered a pass breakup.

Dropped passes were an issue for Dobbs last year and he picked up right where he left off against the Jets. The receiving corps as a unit needs to improve in his area.

Winners and Losers from the Packers Loss to the Jets: Winners: Nazir Stackhouse and Barryn Sorrell

Undrafted free agent Nazir Stackhouse did a good job against the run which is why he was signed. He beat former Packers center Josh Myers at the line of scrimmage to help stuff a 4th down running play. Stackhouse remains the favorite to take over the nose tackle spot T.J. Slaton held last season.

Rookie fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell had two of the Packers three quarterback hits in the game and was in on two total tackles. The former Texas star made a good first impression in his first NFL preseason game.

Loser: LB Isaiah Simmons

Isaiah Simmons had stood out at training camp but looked tentative and unsure against the Jets. In training camp, Simmons showed why he was a top 10 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. But against the Jets, he showed why he hasn’t established himself as a starting player at the NFL level.

Simmons didn’t tackle well and looked unsure of himself in pass coverage. His probably lost ground in his quest to win the third linebacker job on Saturday.

Winners and Losers from the Packers Loss to the Jets, Winner: CB Kalen King

Kalen King made the most of his chances against the Jets. He broke up two passes in the end zone and was in on three total tackles, one of which stopped the Jets short on third down.

King spent last season on the practice squad but will fight for a roster spot this season. He got off to a good start against Jets in late-game duty.

Losers: WRs Mecole Hardman and Malik Heath

Entering the Jets game, most observers felt the final wide receiver spot on the roster would be a battle between Malik Heath and Mecole Hardman. Unfortunately, both of them had bad games against the Jets.

Heath suffered a drop and caught just one pass for four yards on four targets. Because of the injuries at receiver, he had more reps than he might have usually gotten and failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

Hardman had an even worse game. He made the mistake of fielding a punt inside the Packers 10 and muffed a punt that set up a Jets score. His two punt returns officially resulted in zero yards.

As a receiver, Hardman failed to catch a pass on his only target.

As an experienced veteran, Hardman has a solid record as a punt returner. He will need to show that this performance against the Jets was just a rare bad game to make the team.

 

 

 

 

Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers

Click here for more great Packers coverage

Check out our YouTube channel here