Well thankfully this game eventually came to an end and in my opinion, is one that never should have been played if the field was in question. However, that is a story for another day.

Although it was a bit odd, we still did have Green Bay Packers’ football. Due to the field conditions, we didn’t see most of the Packers’ players that will play significant snaps this season but there was still plenty to keep our eyes on.

Now that we find ourselves in the final stretch of the preseason there are a number of players in the midst of positional battles for playing time as well as those still fighting to make the final 53-man roster.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the key takeaways from the Green Bay Packers’ third preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.

  • Let’s not forget about Trevor Davis. Between an injury and the emergence of Darrius Shepherd and Allen Lazard, many had forgotten about how well Davis had played through the first few weeks of Training Camp. However, after this performance where he had 101 all-purpose yards in the first half and a touchdown reception, Davis has put himself right back in the middle of the wide receiver conversation.
  • Tim Boyle struggled early but finished strong and put together a very nice game – easily his best of the preseason. Boyle finished 16/25 for 191 yards along with two touchdowns, and he may have just seized control on the backup quarterback gig.
  • Unfortunately, injuries to some key players were a big storyline in the game. Equanimeous St. Brown left with what could be a broken ankle, while Rashan Gary was carted to the locker room, and Curtis Bolton was seen on crutches in the second half.
  • I do not want to read into this too much, but after a rough week against Baltimore followed by a rough week of practices, Tra Carson started at running back over Dexter Williams. Carson took full advantage of the opportunity and had his best performance of the preseason. This will be something to watch moving forward.
  • The Packers are still deciding not to play Josh Jones. To me, this means that he is likely on his way out as they are comfortable with their safety depth.
  • After missing the first few weeks of Camp, Josh Jackson saw his first significant action and he looked pretty good. Jackson was sticky in coverage, even on passes that were caught, and also forced a pass breakup on a deep throw as well as a tipped ball. We have to feel at least a little better about where he stands after what we saw Thursday night.
  • The inside linebacker depth was always a bit of a concern, but now it needs to be a major one. As we know, Oren Burks is out with a pectoral injury, Curtis Bolton – who looked like he was going to be ILB2 in Chicago – is now injured, and while Ty Summers had a nice performance week one, he is still struggling with tackling. Lastly, James Crawford has looked good on special teams, but he appears lost on defense. GM Brian Gutekunst may need to start looking for solutions outside of the organization.
  • It’s the preseason that is played a majority of the time by backups so a few extra penalties are to be expected but against Oakland, it was a huge issue. In total, the Packers would finish with 12 penalties that totaled 127 yards and many came from the offensive line on running plays.
  • While he has limited playing time in his career, based on what we have seen from Raven Greene in last night’s game as well as his overall performance through Training Camp and into the preseason, the Packers should feel very confident in him as their third safety option.
  • Once again, missed tackles in the secondary reared its ugly head.
  • J.K. Scott had a fantastic night! While last season was a bit of a disappointment for him, he appears to be on the right track and in his seven attempts, he averaged 47.1 yards per punt against Oakland.
  • Dexter Williams is an ideal fit for the zone running scheme, he’s a one cut back with great explosiveness at the hole. The potential is definitely there but we need to see more consistency overall.
  • It is nice to see the screen play back and working effectively in Green Bay!
  • Not to be overshadowed by Trevor Davis, Darrius Shepherd continues to impress – hauling in three receptions for forty yards as well as a 15-yard punt return.
  • Between the game against Oakland and last week’s game against Baltimore, J’Mon Moore has only one target. It would appear that the writing is on the wall for him.
  • Lastly, why did they even play this game?

The regular season is almost upon us and while the overall performances this preseason have been a little sloppy, keep in mind that we haven’t seen Aaron Rodgers under center along with very little playing time from other key starters. There are still plenty of positives to take away from what we’ve seen up to this point.