Upon Further Review: Packers at Ravens

It was backup quarterbacks time again for Green Bay in its second preseason game and it showed.

Playing against a stout Baltimore Ravens defense, the Packers generated just 226 yards of offense and had only one play longer than 25 yards. The end result was a 26-13 loss to Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Packers sat several players, but there were a lot of first-teamers on the field. Green Bay’s top defensive unit allowed two field goals to the Ravens’ first-team offense, although it could well have been 10 points if not for an offensive penalty on a Lamar Jackson highlight-reel touchdown run.

It was tough sledding for Green Bay most of the night. The Packers had just 11 first downs and were 3-for-12 on third-down conversions. A bad exchange on a handoff deep in their own territory early in the third quarter gave Baltimore the ball at the 6 and an easy touchdown to make it 20-6.

And did we mention the nine penalties committed by Green Bay, giving the Packers 21 infractions in two weeks?

Just keep telling yourself it’s just the preseason. Of course, there’s two more of these to go.

Here's a recap of Thursday night's game, (Story | Photos)

With Oren Burks hurt, there’s playing time up for grabs at inside linebacker. While Ty Summers might be the leading candidate, it was Curtis Bolton who got the start for Green Bay in this game. The undrafted free agent from Oklahoma acquitted himself well, recording four tackles including one for loss when he stopped Ravens running back Justice Hill (who went to Oklahoma State, so that must have felt good) one yard behind the line of scrimmage. Bolton was Johnny-on-the-spot, grabbing a deflected pass for an interception late in the first half. He also recorded two tackles on special teams, which can only help his cause on making the team.

There’s another undrafted free agent who his making a decent case to make the initial 53 – wide receiver Darrius Shepherd. For the second straight week Shepherd, who went to North Dakota State, had a touchdown reception. He finished with three catches for just 11 yards but was targeted a game-high six times. Also, like Bolton, Shepherd is standing out on special teams. He opened Green Bay’s first possession with a 36-yard kick return to the Packers’ 40-yard line and also had two punt returns for 15 yards. He’s only 5-foot-10, but Shepherd is someone to keep an eye on.

The most important thing to happen in this game happened before kickoff when Aaron Rodgers was ruled out due to back tightness. This would have been a good test for Rodgers in head coach Matt LaFleur’s new scheme, going up against Baltimore’s tough defense (the Ravens played the majority of their first team). Yeah, Rodgers will probably play next week against Oakland, but let’s face it, Ravens defense >>> Raiders defense. In the long run, it likely won’t be a big deal – Rodgers could probably go the entire preseason without playing – but when he didn’t suit up it quickly made this game a lot less interesting.

3.1 – Packers rushing average. And really the run game was much worse that that number would indicate. Two second-half runs -- Darrin Hall had a 28-yard gain in the third quarter and Keith Ford gained 10 yards late in the fourth quarter – boosted that average. Besides from those two rushes, the Packers had just 14 yards on their 16 other carries (this includes a run of no yards by quarterback Tim Boyle). Yeah, neither Aaron Jones nor Jamaal Williams played, but this still qualifies as ugly.

"No long-term concerns. I don’t want to put him at risk putting him out there when he’s not 100 percent. ... I think we’d like to see him (play), but you’re talking about a veteran quarterback who’s played a lot of football. It’s not a necessity, but it’s certainly something we’d like to see." -- head coach Matt LaFleur on Aaron Rodgers

"If you want to score points in this game it’s about getting explosive plays. That’s where we’re struggling as an offense." -- LaFleur

"I'm not surprised. He's had a hell of a camp. ... If you ask me he's starter-caliber in this league." -- linebacker Curtis Bolton after being told it was Tony Brown who tipped the ball on his interception

"I had a slant route and he was flushed out of the pocket so I kind of spun out, ran to the back of the end zone and broke out and he threw a nice pass where only I could get to it." -- wide receiver Darrius Shepherd on his touchdown reception

It’s off to … Winnipeg? Yup, the Packers will play Oakland north of the border on Thursday night. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw just two passes in Oakland’s second preseason game, but the third preseason game is usually when the starters play the most. The big question is will we see Antonio Brown? For what it’s worth, the Raiders have won their first two preseason games over the Rams and Cardinals.