On Wednesday night, the Carolina Panthers knocked off the Houston Texans (27-17) as the start of the first full week of the 2017 preseason got underway. On Thursday evening, the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles clashed in one of seven games on the night. Going into the contest, we knew we would not see Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes in 2016 and led the club to within one victory of Super Bowl LI. This meeting at Lambeau Field would see Eagles’ second-year quarterback Carson Wentz at the helm.
He would lead his club to a first-quarter touchdown. But when it was all said and done, Green Bay would come away with a 24-9 victory over Doug Pederson’s squad.
A comfortable win
The final score saw a 15-point margin of victory for Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers. But it wasn’t like the team played efficient football throughout the evening. The team ran for 47 yards on 18 plays. Three Green Bay quarterbacks – Joe Callahan, Brett Hundley and undrafted rookie Taysom Hill – were sacked a combined five times. The trio did throw for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns (1 interception), and McCarthy’s team managed only 261 total yards on the night. Still, it’s just the first of four preseason games for the defending NFC North champions.
The team’s next assignment is a trip to FedExField on Saturday, August 19, to take on the Washington Redskins.
Rookie report card
You will recall that the Green Bay Packers made 10 selections in April’s draft. General manager Ted Thompson traded out of the first round and used both of his second-round picks on help for the secondary.
Against the Eagles, rookie cornerback Kevin King (2-Washington) and safety Josh Jones (2b-North Carolina State) each had four solo tackles. On the other hand, defensive tackle Montravius Adams (3-Auburn) and outside linebacker Vince Biegel (4-Wisconsin) were both inactive for the game. Running back Jamaal Williams (4b-BYU) ran four times for 14 yards and both Aaron Jones and Devante Mays saw limited duty as well.
Finally, undrafted wideout Michael Clark caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hill.
You never want to take too much out of a preseason game, much less the first one of the summer. The Green Bay Packers came away with a victory and that’s always s good feeling, but McCarthy’s team still has plenty of work ahead when it comes to preparing for the upcoming regular season.
