The Packers did not elevate anyone from the practice squad. The inactive players due to injury were Edge Lucas Van Ness, CB Nate Hobbs, and Kicker Brandon McManus. The healthy scratches were OL Donovan Jennings, and WR Malik Heath. OL Jacob Monk was active but did not play.
Josh Jacobs left the game with a knee injury and did not return. Rob Demovsky reported that the injury is not season-ending, but just when Jacobs might be expected back is not known. Jacobs will undergo additional tests on Monday.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Player Snaps % STs
Morgan 55 100 3/140%
Rhyan 55 100 3/14%
Walker 55 100 3/14%
Banks 55 100 3/14%
Tom 52 95 3/14%
Kinnard 9 16 3/14%
Belton 3/14%
The run blocking met expectations, for the most part. The Giants have by far the worst run defense in the NFL. The Packers gained 128 yards on 23 carries for a healthy 5.56-yard average, with 1 rushing TD and a long of 17. However, carries by Melton and Willis for 17 and 16 yards, respectively, are propping that average up. The running backs gained 89 yards on 19 carries, which is a 4.63-yard average. That is still a good number as it is above league average.
There were a lot of productive runs to the left side of the line, particularly behind LG Aaron Banks. Pro Football Focus liked Aaron Banks (79.4 initial grade) and Tom (76.0 initial grade). The line still has some difficulty picking up a yard or 2 in short yardage situations. It sure would help if Banks became the very good run blocker he was advertised to be, and to be fair, he was in San Francisco.
The Packers allowed 8 quarterback hits and 2 sacks, both by Brian Burns. Sean Rhyan allowed a quarterback hit to Dexter Lawrence early and then settled down, though he had a bad snap that was listed as a fumble. Jordan Love recovered the fumble. Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan each allowed 2 hurries and a QB hit, but PFF did not ding them for allowing any sacks. Banks allowed 2 hurries and Tom allowed 1 hurry. PFF indicated that Love had 3.19 seconds to throw the ball. Love tripped over trash (actually Zach Tom) as he stepped up in the pocket for 1 sack.
RUNNING BACKS:
Player Snaps % STs Routes Run Targets
Wilson 39 71 19 1
Jacobs 12 22 3 0
Brooks 5 9 15/68% 1 0
Josh Jacobs finished with 40 yards on 7 carries for a 5.71-yard average. Jacobs had no receptions and just 1 target. Apparently the swing pass Jacobs caught for 15 yards was a lateral. Emanuel Wilson carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards, a 3.64-yard average, and he caught his only target for 9 yards. Wilson had at least 2 very good blitz pick-ups and Chris Brooks had a beautiful blitz pick-up with a long sustain that allowed Love to complete a 33-yard pass to Savion Williams.
QUARTERBACKS:
Player Snaps % STs
Love 68 100
Willis DNP
Love completed 13 of 24 (54.17%) for 174 yards (7.25 yards/attempt), with 2 touchdowns and no nterceptions. After allowing for 3 drops (I counted 6), PFF listed Love's adjusted completion percentage for 80%. He had a passer rating of 105.2. Love had at least 2 big-time throws. His average depth of target was a whopping 13.4 yards and only 10.6% of his passing yards came from yards after the catch. He gained 7 yards on 2 designed runs, one of which knocked him out of the ball game for a time. PFF gave Love an initial grade of 93.7 grade. PFF thinks Love is putting this team on his back.
Love got some help from Malik Willis, who completed 2 passes for 6 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown pass was a 5-yard bullet to Christian Watson, who simply was not open but made a very contested catch. Willis had a passer rating of 118.8. Willis also ran once for 16 yards. He looks very natural as a runner.
TIGHT ENDS:
Player Snaps % STs Routes Run Targets
Fitzpatrick 35 64 13 1
Whyle 20 36 5/23% 9 1
Musgrave 19 35 10 2
Musgrave caught 1 of his 2 targets for -1 yards. He had a fumble or it might have been 2 dropped passes. This is Musgrave's chance to show what he can do, but it looks like he either got injured or the Packers phased him out in the second half, as Fitzpatrick played 18 of a possible 22 snaps, Whyle played 13 of 22, and Musgrave played 3 of 22 snaps in the second half. Whyle caught 1 pass for 5 yards buit it was a touchdown reception. Fitzpatrick caught 1 pass for 2 yards.
The Packers returned to using roughly 1.35 TEs per play, but they really do not have the personnel to play so many TEs if none of them are named Tucker Kraft. Perhaps Whyle can show more as he gets accustomed to Green Bay. Using Musgrave on 9 snaps to block is probably necessary so he is not a tell, but how much it contributes to the success of the offense is open to debate.
WIDE RECEIVERS:
Player Snaps % STs Routes Run Targets
Watson 43 78 24 5
Doubs 42 76 2/9% 22 7
Wicks 31 56 17 2
Golden 19 35 11 2
Melton 2 4 10/45% 0 0
Williams 2 4 4/18% 2 1
Watson caught 4 of his 5 targets for 46 yards and 2 touchdowns. both of which were beautiful and difficult catches. One touchdown was a 5-yard bullet from Willis despite a defensive back standing next to Watson who swiped at Watson's hands immediately, but Watson held on. The other touchdown pass was a 17-yard fade to Watson that he skied for and out-jumped every around him. He did drop a long over-the-shoulder pass. Watson also legally put a defender on the ground on a pick play that left Whyle wide open for a easy touchdown pass. PFF gave Watsona well-deserved initial grade of 78.4. Doubs had a rough day. He caught 4of his 8 targets for 53 yards with a long of 22, but he dropped at least 2 passes.
Wicks caught 1 of 2 targets for 9 yards and Golden caught 1 of 3 for 24 yards, with a long of 24. Golden was inactive last week due to injury so I assume he was on a pitch count against the Giants. Williams caught his only target for 33 yards, all in the air, after Love (and Chris Brooks) bought time in the pocket. It was a nice catch.
The long pass that Watson dropped was a beautiful pass from Love on a third down and 2. It is one thing to get a little pass happy on third and short when one's QB is Aaron Rodgers, who was rarely inaccurate, and the wide receiver is either Jordy Nelson or Davante Adams, who rarely dropped passes and often enough helped out their quarterback by making a tough catch. This iteration of the Packers does not have that connection.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES:
Player Snaps % STs
Wooden 48 67 4/18%
Brooks 37 51 8/36%
Wyatt 34 47 3/14%
Stackhouse 14 19
Brinson 6 8 4/18%
Wodden had 4 tackles (2 solo0. Wyatt had 3 tackles (1 solo). Brooks had 2 tackles (1 solo). Brinson had 1 solo tackle and Stackhouse had no official statistics. Brooks had a hurry, otherwise, the tackles did not have any pressures. Wooden had 2 stops and 2 missed tackles. Brooks had a tackle for loss/no gain (per PFF, not ESPN or the NFL), and 3 missed tackles. Brinson and Wyatt each had 1 stop (an unsuccessful run).
The Giants gained 142 yards on 38 carries, a 3.74-yard average. That is clearly not bad at all. The thing is that opponents are trying to shorten the game by having long drives and reducing the number of possessions the Packers' offense gets in a game. Here, there was only one negative running play, and the Giants had a +0.08 EPA/running play, which is in the 84th percentile. The Giants did not gash the Packers in the run game, but it was good enough to get a 35:56 to 24:04 time of possession advantage and to limit the Packers to 8 possessions. Moreover, the Giants had those advantages despite having 2 turnovers. The Packers were 4 for 4 in the red zone, which was the difference in today's game.
DEFENSIVE ENDS:
Player Snaps % STs
Parsons 61 85
Enagbare 40 56 9/41%
Gary 39 54
Sorrell 12 17
Mosby 18/82%
Parsons had 6 tackles (1 solo), 1.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hits and a forced fumble. PFF listed him with pressures (2 hurries, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks) in 29 pass rushing snaps, a 20.7% success rate and 3 stops on run defense. PFF gave him an 90.2 grade. Gary had 3 tackles (2 solo) and a fumble recovery. PFF listed Gary with 3 hurries on 18 pass rushes, a 16.7% success rate, which is a respectable pressure rate, 2 stops (includig 1 no gain, and 1 missed tackle. Enagbare had 2 assisted tackles (0 solo) and a QB hit. He had 2 stops and a missed tackle. PFF indicated that Enagbare had no pressures on 15 pass rushes (PFF did not credit Enagbare with a QB hit). Sorrell had 1 assisted tackle. Sorrell had no stops and no pressures, as he only got 2 pass rushing snaps. Mosby had 2 nice tackles on special teams, one of which sent him to the sidelines late in the game.
It is interesting that Enagbare got more snaps than Gary, who is due $19.5M in cash for 2026 and will carry a $28M cap number. The Packers could save over $10M with a straight release of Gary and almost $18M with a June designation. Yet, his numbers are perfectly respectable, particularly for a #2 Edge player. LVN will return but he has not really blossomed into a #2 Edge yet, and Enagbare is an unrestricted free agent and also is not the pass rushing threat one looks for in the number two (or even a #3) Edge player. Enagbare had 11 pressures in 124 pass rush snaps coming into the Giants game (an 8.87% pressure rate) while LVN has 16 pressures in 104 pass rushing snaps, a 15.38% pressure rate. 15% is respectable but my eye test indicates that a lot of LVN's pressures are hustle pressures due to another player winning on a passing play. The Packers will have a decision to make, and one that can't be made in a vacuum because there are many moving parts in personnel decisions.
LINEBACKERS:
Players Snaps % STs
Cooper 71 99 4/18%
McDuffie 53 74 19/86%
Walker 38 53 3/14%
Hopper 12 17 16/73%
Welch 14/68%
McDuffie had 11 tackles (6 solo), 1 QB hit and half of a sack. PFF listed him with 2 pressures (1 hurry, 1 sack) and 1 stop. McDuffie also committed pass interference which gave the Giants the ball on the Packers' 1-yard line. Walker had 7 tackles (1 solo). He had 2 stops and 1 missed tackle. Quay Walker left the game with an injury. Cooper had 6 tackles (3 solo) and a tackle for loss. PFF assigned no pressures and no missed tackles to Cooper, but I remember an egregious miss tackle that ruptured into a big gain for the Giants. Hopper had 1 solo tackle. PFF does not provide any statistics for Hopper.
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Player Snaps % STs
McKinney 72 100 9/41%
Nixon 70 97 4/18%
Valentine 70 97
Williams 66 92 9/41%
Bullard 47 65 7/32%
Olapado 1 1 10/45%
Anderson 1 1 15/68%
Hadden 6/27%
Nixon had 8 solo tackles and 2 passes defensed. He had one stop, per PFF. Mckinney had 5 tackles (2 solo) and a pass defensed. Evan Williams had 8 tackles (4 solo), an interception to end the game and a pass defensed. PFF assigned 1 stop and 2 missed tackles to Williams. Bullard had 5 tackles (3 solo) and a pass defensed. He had no pressures on 3 pass rushing snaps. Valentine had 2 solo tackles.
Jameis Winston threw 5 turnover-worthy passes, one of which was intercepted (by Evan Williams). The one that got intercepted was the least egregious as Winston's receiver stopped running the route. Valentine dropped one and the other chance he had was on a deflection by another defender, but he just did not react quite fast enough to, and McDuffie also half tackled him. Bullard also got his hands on an errant pass but again another Packer actually interfered with his attempt to catch the ball.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Orzech is still a bad long snapper. Havrisik missed 2 out of 3 extra points and LaFleur prudently did not require him to attempt any field goals. Whelan snagged a couple of bad snaps and flipped the field twice in the second half.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta of Imagn Images.
Statistics coutesy of NFLgsis and PFF.
OL: 5.11
RB: 1.02
TE: 1.35
WR: 2.53
DT: 1.93
DE: 2.11
LB: 2.42
DB: 4.54