The Packers activated Eric Stokes from the PUP list and released Justin Hollins again to make room.  Jaire Alexander, Devondre Campbell and possibly Zayne Anderson (hamstring) were inactive due to injury.  Malik Heath and Caleb Jones were healthy scratches.  Sean Clifford was active but did not play.  The Packers did not elevate anyone from the practice squad. 

Stokes left the game after one snap on STs with a hamstring injury.  Darnell Savage apparently reinjured his calf in a non-contact situation.  Wyatt left the game and did not return.  Luke Musgrave left the game after a big hit that earned an unnecessary roughness penalty and did not return.  

The Packers were able to run the ball.  The running backs gained 50 yards on 9 carries in the first half, a 5.56-yard average.  Adding in 2 carries from Love and Wicks for 5 yards increases the yards to 53 and drops the average to 4.4-yards per carry.  For the game, the Packers gained 137 yards on 29 carries, good for a 4.7-yard average.

There still are problems with the zone stretch calls and the inside zone calls for that matter.  The average was good, but the Packers were not able to actually gain first downs by pounding the ball with the running game.  They either were too inconsistent or made a mistake.  Running plays designed to go wide are susceptible to negative plays as opponents always seem to have defenders on the Packers side of the line of scrimmage while usually holding the edge.  The pass protection was generally good as the line allowed just 3 quarterback hits and no sacks. 

Myers left the game for four snaps and then returned for the rest of the game.  Tom moved to center and Nijman played right tackle.  Those four plays consisted of the Wicks pass across the field to Aaron Jones fo 14 yards, an incomplete pass intended for Aaron Jones, a run off left guard for 6 yards by Dillon, and an incomplete pass to Doubs on 3rd and 4 at the Denver 11 yard line.  While I would have liked to have seen that line configuration play more snaps, the sample size is just too small for me to say positively that it was a better line, given it included 2 incomplete passes and a trick play.  It was a pretty solid run, and that has been an issue for the Packers.

Jenkins had a holding call that negated a nice gain by Love on a scramble.  That said, I think the hold was what sprung Love for the gain in the first place.  Jenkins was in pass protection, mirroring the defender, when Love pulled it down and started to run.  It would be tough to prevent the defensive tackle from moving laterally to squeeze the hole without holding.  I was not bothered very much by the penalty.

AJ Dillon ran hard, broke a tackle or two, and seemed to pick the right running lane.  Dillon gained 61 yards on 15 carries for a 4.1-yard average.  He added 2 receptions on 2 targets for 34 more yards, including a 29-yard reception.  His pass protection was good, as well.  Dillon looked like a dependable number two running back.  Aaron Jones gained 35 yards on 8 carries for a 4.4-yard average, while adding 23 yards on 3 receptions.  He was able to gain positive yards on plays that did not look all that promising initially.  Emanuel Wilson had carries of 14 and 5 yards, though the 14 yard gain was the final play in the first half with 5 seconds remaining from Green Bay's own 25 yard line.  

Musgrave caught 4 of his 5 targets for 30 yards, a 7.5-yard average with a long of 18.  He seemed to know when the ball was going to be snapped, which was an issue for him in the last game.  Deguara had no receptions, but he threw a nice block in combination with a pulling Runyan to spring Dillon for a longer run.  He then had a false start.  Sims had 1 reception for 2 yards on a short pass into the flat, but it was good for a first down.  Kraft threw at least a couple of good blocks.  Still, that is a lot of snaps for no targets.  Like Rasheed Walker, it appears that the Packers are committed to developing Kraft and are less concerned about immediate benefit.

Love completed 21 of 31 attempts (67.7%) for 180 yards (8.57 yards/rec and 5.8 yards/attempt) with 2 TDs and 1 interception.  His passer rating was 90.8.  The Packers threw short a lot, especially in the first half, during which Love completed 10 of 13 passes for 47 yards, a dismal 3.62 yards per attempt, with no TDs or INTs.  His 10 completions in the first half went for -2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 14.  That is not going to cut it in today's NFL.  Green Bay's first three possessions were 3 plays for 8 yards and a punt, 5 plays for 11 yards and a punt, and 6 plays for 20 yards and a punt (helped by two offside penalties on Denver).  

Love's second half numbers were11 of 18 for 133 yards, (7.39-yards/att) with 2 TDs and 1 INT.    One of Love's TD passes was a turnover-worthy throw and the interception was a wounded duck.  There were a few deeper completions outside the numbers to Watson and Musgrave, but the middle of the field was generally clogged up with defenders.  The linebackers aren't paying much attention to the play action.  

The Packers played 2.5 wide receivers per play on average, a little less than usual.  Still, that is a lot of snaps for 180 passing yards.  Other than passes into the flats and the like (passes the defense is not overly concerned about), there wasn't much to write home about.  I do not think the receivers are doing Jordan Love many favors.  Watson caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards with a long of 23, Reed 3 of 4 for 21, Doubs 2 of 5 for 30, Wicks 1 of 1 for 17, and Toure 1 of 2 for 3 yards.  There doesn't seem to be very many slants or vertical seam routes attacking the intermediate and deep middle.  

Denver gained 145 rushing yards on 25 carries for a 5.8-yard average.  The Packers only played 2.34 true defensive linemen per play on average.  Still, that is too many yards allowed with far too healthy of an average.  The DL had no tackles for loss, no quarterback hits and did not get much push.  Russell Wilson was able to step up or escape when the outside linebackers got pressure.  Wooden had 3 tackles (2 solo) and Brooks had 2 solo tackles.  Wyatt had 2 tackles (1 solo) and Slaton had one solo tackle.  Kenny Clark had no statistics.

McDuffie led the Packers with 10 tackles (7 solo).  He is a decent backup.  Quay Walker had 5 tackles (4 solo) and 2 tackles for loss, while Eric Wilson added 1 assisted tackle.  This defense misses and healthy Devondre Campbell. 

There was some pressure, but Green Bay needed more than it got.  Rashan Gary had 3 tackles (2 solo) and a quarterback hit.  Pro Football Focus credited Gary with "an absurd pass-rush win rate of 40.5%."   That said, Russell Wilson remains elusive and dangerous on the move, and he was able to step up or roll out to foil Gary's efforts.  Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes, but 6 were throwaways.  On passes with an intended target, Russell Wilson was 20 of 23.  Preston Smith did draw a holding penalty on LT Garrett Bolles (as Mike Wahle suggested in his podcast might happen) but he and Gary never met at the quarterback.  Smith did have 2 tackles (1 solo) including the only sack of Russell Wilson.  Enagbare had 2 assisted taclkes and a QB hit.  Van Ness and Cox had no statistics.  

Valentine had 8 tackles (7 solo).  He gave up the 33-yard completion to Courtland Sutton, but I thought it was very good coverage and just a better throw.  However, Valentine gave up other completions, and indeed, he was picked on by Russell Wilson, especially on third downs.  Ford had 7 tackles (4 solo).  Rasul Douglas had 5 tackles (3 solo, including a tackle for loss), and turned in a quality performance.  Nixon had 2 tackles (1 solo) but also gave up some completions.  Savage and Owens each had a solo tackle.  That is a lot of snaps for Owens for the second straight game, and again his name was called often.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Whelan punted 3 times for a 51.7 gross-yard average and a 48.0-yard net.  He had two punts inside the 20 and a third pulled rolled into the end zone.  Anders Carlson made two extra pointers, a 29 yarder and missed wide left from 43.  The snap and hold appeared to be good.  The Packers lost by 2 points.

WR: 2.50

RB: 1.00

TE: 1.50 ( a big number, especially considering the quality of the TEs)

DL: 2.34

ILB: 1.80

OLB: 2.02

DB: 4.85

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy of USA Today Sports