Packers: Positives and negatives from the last preseason game

Positives and negatives from the Packers’ preseason finale.

The Green Bay Packers took on the Buffalo Bills to finish up the preseason, losing in ugly fashion.

The preseason is officially over for the Packers and it’s finally time to look towards some games that truly mean something. The Packers faced off with the Bills and took another loss to finish up the preseason 0-3.

Of course, in all three games, Green Bay sat 30-plus players which was just about every starter on both sides of the ball, minus a select few. Wins and losses really don’t matter in the preseason, as it is more of an evaluation period and Saturday’s game was great for that.

So let’s look at some “positives and negatives” from the final preseason game.

Positive No. 1: Jordan Love

Let’s start off with an obvious one. Through two games, Jordan Love has looked the part. Against the Bills, Love went 12/18, 149 yards, and an interception. The interception was a very poor decision, which is something Love needs to work on. He also had a pass that was a little behind an open Jace Sternberger and a duck to AJ Dillon in the red zone later on.

Otherwise, he looked pretty okay. Love certainly isn’t afraid to sling it and he clearly has some arm talent. Even his interception, while a horrible decision, was quite an impressive throw off of his back foot facing pressure. If things go accordingly, this should be the last time we see Love until next summer but it was nice to finally see him on the field.

Negative No. 1: Jake Hanson

Jake Hanson was a sixth-round selection from last year’s draft and was someone who was looking to prove himself this preseason. The Packers have a very deep offensive line and Hanson did himself no favors on Saturday. In his first play at center, he messed up the snap, causing Love to fall on it. Then later it looked like he missed the silent count while in the red zone, causing a delay-of-game penalty. Not a great day for Hanson.

Positive No. 2: Kylin Hill

It seems like every week the play of Kylin Hill can be praised and this week was no different. Hill had another solid game, rushing seven times for 37 yards, which comes out to more than five yards per carry. Hill has been a stud all preseason/camp and may have been the Packers’ MVP of the preseason. His spot seemed locked as RB3 before this game but I have no doubts coming out of it.

Negative No. 2: Isaac Yiadom

The Packers traded for Isaac Yiadom a couple of weeks ago, swapping former second-round pick Josh Jackson for him. Jackson didn’t seem to have a spot on this roster so I had no issues with it. Two games later, it looks like Yiadom may not be on this team much longer either.

Yiadom had a poor game, getting targeted quite a bit the first drive, including giving up the Bills’ first touchdown of the day. With someone like Kabion Ento making less money and under team control, I’m not sure how Yiadom finds his way onto the roster.

Positive No. 3: Malik Taylor

Someone who may have just locked up WR6 over the last two weeks is Malik Taylor. Given the injuries to Devin Funchess (released from IR) and Juwann Winfree, it looks like Taylor has a clear path to that spot. When you take what he can do on special teams into consideration, he should be a lock. Taylor also looked like the best WR on the field on Saturday, catching five of six targets for 69 yards.

Negative No. 3: Jace Sternberger

I’ll cut Jace Sternberger a little bit of slack, given one of his two targets was out of his reach, but his future is not looking good for the Packers. A former third-round pick, Sternberger has shown very little heading into his third year.

He appears to be behind Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara, and Dominique Dafney and I can’t see any scenario where the team keeps five tight ends. On top of all that, he will start the year suspended due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy.