Packers: Winners and losers from Week 2 win vs. Lions

Winners and losers for the Packers in week two.

After a slow start against the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers turned it on in the second half to win 42-21. Let’s take a look at some players whose stock rose and fell.

It was a tale of two halves against the Lions for the Packers this past Sunday. At one point they trailed 14-3, but the Packers bounced back and built a big lead after the first play of scrimmage in the second half and never looked back.

With Green Bay moving to 2-0 on this young season, let’s take a look at some winners and losers from week two.

Loser: Jace Sternberger

Jace Sternberger is only in his second year in the NFL after being drafted by the Packers in 2019, but he seems to be losing playing time more and more. In Sunday’s game, Sternberger was only targeted one time and had a brutal drop on his one target. In a TE room that is begging for someone to break out, it’s a shame that it hasn’t been the former third-round pick.

Winner: Chandon Sullivan

After a rough game for the young corner in week one, Chandon Sullivan turned in a good performance on Sunday, getting one tackle, two pass deflections, and of course, a pick-six on Matt Stafford that blew the game open in the second half. There are a lot of eyes on Sullivan this year with him being the new slot corner. Performances like these are great building blocks.

Winner: Rashan Gary

Rashan Gary has been under a lot of scrutiny since being drafted last year. A lot of fans hated the selection and labeled him a bust right out of the gate. Combine that with the fact that he got very little playing time last season.

Gary registered two QB hits on Sunday while also getting involved in two different sacks, and a TFL. You can also give credit to Gary for Sullivan’s interception. Gary caused the disruption which led Stafford to make a poor read on that throw.

Losers: Wide receiver room

The biggest story coming from the game for the receivers was that Davante Adams suffered a hamstring injury at one point in the game. Matt LaFleur and the Packers seemed to downplay the injury as anything serious, which is a good sign.

If there was one person I thought gained the most, it was Marquez Valdes-Scantling. While he still has yet to put it all together, he has made some solid strides this season. He had three catches for 64 yards, averaging 21 yards a catch. He also took a really scary hit and came back in the game, showing his toughness.

Closing out with Allen Lazard, who had a pretty quiet game on Sunday against the Lions with three catches for 45 yards. Now, I don’t think this is an indictment on the talent level of these players, I just think they had a slower day while others broke out.

Loser: Preston Smith

Through two games, Preston Smith is a name we have barely heard so far this season. After not even making the stat sheet against Minnesota, Smith was quiet once again in week two. He was able to get involved in a sack but otherwise didn’t do much. Expect Smith to look to improve in the upcoming weeks.

Winner: Aaron Jones

Aaron Jones is the ultimate winner from this Sunday’s game and I don’t see how it can be anyone else. Jones had a career day against the Lions on Sunday with 236 total scrimmage yards, second-most in Packers history, and three total touchdowns. He had a 75-yard touchdown run to open the half which increased Green Bay’s lead.

With Jones in a contract year, games like this one are going to make sure that he gets himself a nice pay check this offseason.

Final thoughts

This was an interesting day for the Packers, as said above, it was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Packers did not look good on offense or defense. Credit to the coaching staff for flipping the script in the second half.

I thought the defense looked much better in the second half, getting the pick-six, forcing the Lions to punt multiple times, and actually stopping the run. All of these things were great to see.