The Green Bay Packers produced an impressive win to open the preseason in Cincinnati, beating the Bengals at Paycor Stadium by a final score of 36-19 on Friday night.
Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ preseason win over the Bengals:
Stars
DL T.J. Slaton: He played eight disruptive snaps. On one play, he discarded the blocker, found the running back and made the solo tackle. Two of his four pass-rushing snaps produced pressure, including one quarterback hit.
RB Emanuel Wilson: The rookie running back looked explosive over six carries, of which three ended in gains of at least 10 yards, including the 80-yard touchdown. Another big run got wiped out by a penalty.
CB Carrington Valentine: Bengals quarterbacks targeted him six times. Twice, he broke up the pass, including one impressive rep of sticky coverage along the sideline. Maybe his best play came on a run play when beat a block and stopped the runner for no gain. Later, he was gifted an interception on a deflected pass. The six targets netted only 19 yards.
OL Zach Tom: The second-year offensive linemen looked comfortable at both right tackle (12 snaps) and center (16). On Jordan Love’s touchdown pass, Tom perfectly mirrored the edge rusher and kept the pocket clean. He’s a starter at one of the two positions come Week 1.
OL Elgton Jenkins: The Pro Bowler dominated second-teamers.
Studs
WR Samori Toure: He caught passes of 28 and 25 yards from Sean Clifford, and his 44-yard kickoff return in the second half set up a touchdown drive. His 25-yard catch came on a quick slant from the slot and featured a broken tackle. His 28-yarder along the sideline was the byproduct of an off-schedule play.
WR Jayden Reed: He made a difficult contested catch in the middle of the field, handled a few designed touches and looked very comfortable catching/returning punts. He’s the heavy favorite to be the slot/punt returner come Week 1.
S Anthony Johnson Jr.: The rookie safety made a run stop and gave up only 10 passing yards against his coverage. He also tied for the special teams lead with two tackles. Johnson had a chance at an interception in the second half but couldn’t complete the catch.
OLB Kingsley Enagbare: Three pressures, two special teams tackles. This was an excellent showing from a player who will be counted on as a rotational edge rusher and core special teamer in 2023.
WR Dontayvion Wicks: He caught three passes for a team-high 68 yards on only 16 routes run. His highlight play was an excellent route and catch on a 47-yarder from Sean Clifford. He also delivered a key block on Tyler Goodson’s touchdown run.
CB William Hooper: He broke up two passes in the second half and only allowed three catches on eight targets into his coverage.
OLB Brenton Cox Jr.: The rookie edge rusher created a team-high three pressures, and his batted pass created an interception for Dallin Leavitt. While he lacked some get-off explosiveness, he looked slippery at times off the edge, and he was especially disruptive coming inside on stunts.
WR Malik Heath: He caught three passes. His best play was a run block that drove the cornerback out of bounds and eventually drew a penalty.
Duds
OL Royce Newman: He gave up a handful of pressures and committed two penalties. The third-year offensive linemen struggles to stay on his feet consistently. At this point, Newman’s roster spot can’t be considered safe.
S Jonathan Owens: The former Texan started at safety, but he gave up an explosive passing play (32 yards) and had a missed tackle on a long run in his preseason debut for the Packers.
DL Devonte Wyatt: He had a pressure on a stunt, but he also missed the tackle on the quarterback and later missed another tackle on Chris Evans’ long run in the first half. Wyatt has to finish better.
OLB Lukas Van Ness: The Packers’ first-round pick played 20 snaps, including 15 as a pass-rusher, but was quiet and mostly unproductive in his preseason debut.
TE Tucker Kraft: The rookie caught only one of his targets for four yards, and he lost out on a contested catch that turned into an interception.
