Takeaways from the Green Bay Packers' joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts varied depending on which field you watched.
On one, the Packers' defense dominated against the Colts' struggling offense. The opposite story played out on the other side, with Green Bay's injury-hit offense failing to find consistency. It's unsurprising given how many key players didn't practice. More on that in a moment.
It's one thing to get reps against your teammates, but joint practices are valuable in getting competitive snaps with an unfamiliar opponent. The Packers arrived in Indianapolis aiming to put last week's preseason embarrassment against the New York Jets behind them, and that mission was, for the most part, successful.
Packers' winners and losers from a mixed day on the practice field vs. Colts
Winner: Matthew Golden
What more can we say about Matthew Golden?
The first-round pick's hype train left the station weeks ago, and there's no looking back. Despite the Packers' offense struggling to get out of first gear for much of the afternoon, Golden continued to display star potential.
"Golden almost impossible to cover 1 on 1 when he makes inside-out or outside-in move at the line," writes Mike Spofford of the Packers' official website. "He beat Colts top corner Charvarius Ward easily on his first rep. Any type of free release gives Golden all he needs."
It's no longer surprising. Sure, one-on-one drills favor the receiver, but Golden is beating everyone.
He won his rep against Sauce Gardner in an impressive preseason cameo last week, and he is making separation look easy against every cornerback he faces.
Loser: Packers' injury situation
While the Packers don't have too many long-term injury concerns, they entered an important joint practice without several offensive starters.
Quarterback Jordan Love attended practice only two days removed from thumb surgery, but he didn't practice. Wide receivers Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams, and Christian Watson remained sidelined.
Only Watson will miss extended time, but with Week 1 closing in, the Packers need their receivers back out there getting valuable reps.
Winner: Lukas Van Ness
The breakout season is coming.
Lukas Van Ness is having a phenomenal summer. Packers fans know better than to buy too much into training camp hype, but Van Ness is becoming impossible to ignore.
"Van Ness sack…again," Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official website posted from practice.
It's becoming an evergreen comment. A defensive line coach change has helped the entire front seven improve, and Van Ness is finally showing signs of living up to his first-round potential. He is stacking success in the best way imaginable with another dominant practice.
Loser: Packers' offense
Reports indicate the offense didn't enjoy as much success. They had no Love or five of their top six wide receivers, so it's hardly surprising.
"Disjointed first 11-on-11 period for Packers offense. Penalties and incompletions," writes Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. "Understandable given Packers w/o QB and five WRs, but still not pretty."
The most important thing is getting everyone back healthy as soon as possible, but it's a shame they missed an opportunity to test themselves against another NFL defense.
Winner: Jeff Hafley
To quote Aaron Rodgers: "We've got a defense."
"If that first team period is any indication, doesn't matter who starts at QB for Colts this season. They're in big trouble behind that offensive line. Packers defense just had five sacks, and these were easy calls," writes Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Jeff Hafley has to be awfully happy with that."
The pass rush has looked rejuvenated this summer, and it translated to the joint practice in Indianapolis. The Colts couldn't get anything going, and even many plays they did make likely wouldn't have happened in a real game due to the pressure in the quarterback's face.
They still have to prove it when the real games begin, but the Packers may have a championship-level pass rush brewing.
Winner: Brandon McManus
The difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, the Packers had Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph battling it out in a kicking competition they both lost. Green Bay then experimented with rookie Brayden Narveson before eventually signing veteran Brandon McManus.
McManus has been near-perfect all summer and was again on Thursday. Per reports, he also (unofficially) hit a 70-yarder, although it was a practice kick without a defense.
McManus looked as consistent as ever.