The Green Bay Packers’ preseason victory over the Denver Broncos on Friday night was as meaningful as their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week was meaningless.

Still, a 33-13 victory over a team that might have reached the Super Bowl had starting quarterback Bo Nix been healthy was impressive. It kicked off a pivotal stretch for the Packers, who have a couple starting positions up for grabs and quite a bit of uncertainty at the bottom of the roster.

Coming up, the Packers will host the Arizona Cardinals for a joint practice on Wednesday and the final preseason game next Friday. Two days later, on Aug. 30, general manager Brian Gutekunst must cut his roster from 91 players to 53.

Big First Half for Packers

Highlighted by four field goals by Trey Smack, who probably clinched the kicking job after a rocky offseason and start to training camp, the Packers led 23-10 at halftime. Sure, it’s the preseason, but it was a quality performance given how poorly they played in last week’s 28-9 loss at the Steelers.

The Packers won the opening coin toss and drove straight down the field for a touchdown. Jordan Love on fourth-and-1 hit Matthew Golden for 20 yards, with Golden continuing his excellent August by making a one-handed catch on a ball thrown just below his hip.

Then, MarShawn Lloyd did his thing. First, on third-and-2, he put his shoulder into All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II and fought for the first down. Finally, on third-and-3 from the 11, he destroyed a Broncos defender on his route, caught the ball at the 8 and sprinted into the end zone. Lloyd celebrated like a player who hadn’t scored a touchdown since he was at USC in 2023.

Love was 5-of-7 for 56 yards and the touchdown, good for a passer rating of 134.5.

“The whole operation,” impressed coach Matt LaFleur, he said during his halftime interview. “I thought he was poised, making the right decisions. It was a collective effort.”

The Broncos answered with a touchdown; Xavier McKinney gave up a 35-yard catch on third-and-5 and Edgerrin Cooper gave up the touchdown.

Denver took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter before the game swung Green Bay’s way. Pierre Strong returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to the 32. The drive didn’t go anywhere but Smack bombed a 51-yard field goal.

A pair of defensive penalties helped the Packers take a 17-10 lead with 3:07 left in the half. On third-and-goal from the 2, Tyrod Taylor threw a fade to Will Sheppard, with the former Colorado player making a superb toe-dragging touchdown catch.

The Packers weren’t done. And neither was Smack. First, Jaylin Simpson had the coverage on a fourth-and-5 incompletion, which gave the offense great field position. Smack smacked a 59-yard field goal – his fourth of longer than 50 yards this preseason. Smack was fired up long before the ball split the uprights with plenty of distance to spare.

Moments later, safety Mark Perry – who’s in the thick of the chase for a roster spot – made a sensational read and picked off veteran quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Smack kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Packers a 23-10 lead at halftime.

The Starters

Green Bay’s offense was one-and-done with its touchdown. It required some good fortune. On the second play, Christian Watson caught a slant and picked up a first down before he was stripped by All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain. The Broncos recovered but Watson was ruled down on a bang-bang play.

The defense played two series. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix was 6-of-9 passing for 76 yards and one touchdown. The pass rush was mostly nonexistent.

At cornerback, Brandon Cisse and Keisean Nixon started and played the opening series. Benjamin St-Juste and Nixon played the second series; Cisse appeared to be shaken up on special teams, so it’s not certain if he played one series by design or by necessity.

Special Teams

Green Bay’s special teams under new coordinator Cam Achord might be on the upswing.

In the first half:

Strong’s 68-yard kickoff return picked up a number of key blocks, including by veteran special-teams standout Kristian Welch. Skyy Moore had a 16-yard punt return. And Smack made all three field-goal attempts, making him officially 6-of-6 through six quarters of the preseason.

It was huge for Smack, who added one more field goal in the fourth quarter, to turn one good preseason game into two.

“Good performance from one day, right?” general manager Brian Gutekunst said this week in light of the Pittsburgh game. “You know, that’s what that is, and he’s had a bunch of them during the camp but that, obviously, was the most important one. That’s the one that actually counts for points in a game. Those are what you want.”

Welch and Arron Mosby had two tackles apiece in the first half.

No Drama in Second Half

The Broncos pulled within 23-13 late in the third quarter. Chris McClellan had a tackle for loss and cornerback MJ Devonshire and Jaylin Simpson prevented completions to former fourth-round pick Hakeem Butler.

Green Bay answered, though, on Jaden Nixon’s 3-yard touchdown run. Kyle McCord might have clinched the No. 3 job – meaning a spot on the practice squad – on this drive. First, he hit Isaiah Neyor for 27 on the final play of the third quarter and Neyor for 11 more at the start of the fourth quarter.

Nixon then burst up the middle for 16 to the 3 behind blocks by center Dylan Barrett, right guard Travis Glover and right tackle Brant Banks. One play later, Barrett led the line’s surge that got Nixon into the end zone for a 30-13 lead.  

On the ensuing possession, Jonathan Ford’s quick pressure up the middle set up Nyjalik Kelly for a sack/strip that the Broncos quarterback Sam Ehlinger recovered. On the next play, Anthony Cambell continued his incredible August by destroying Gavin Ortega for a punishing sack to force a punt.

On the next drive, just before the 2-minute warning, McCord went over 100 passing yards by hitting Sheppard between two defenders for 20 yards. Smack belted a 38-yard field goal to cap the scoring.

Sheppard caught six passes for 47 yards and the touchdown and Strong had a team-high 37 rushing yards. The Packers finished with 299 yards. Rookie defensive tackle Chris McClellan was tremendous with a team-high six tackles. Hadden had five tackles, including two for losses.

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