Green Bay Packers vs Oakland Raiders: Winners and Losers

Here are the winners and losers from Thursday night’s preseason debacle between the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders.

The third preseason game is supposed to be an extended trial for the starters, as they usually play most, if not all, of the first half. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders headed to Canada to face one another. Due to concerns about the condition of the field, neither team played their starters.

Most of the game was slow and featured some back-and-forth punting. The second quarter was the lone exception. Green Bay scored all of their 21 points in that quarter and the Raiders added another touchdown as well. It was certainly exciting to watch even on a field shortened to 80 yards.

The Packers have one more preseason game remaining before they take on the Chicago Bears in the first regular season game of the year. Before we move forward, let’s take a look at winners and losers from Thursday night.

Winners:

Tim Boyle: Boyle had a slow first quarter and nearly threw his first interception of the preseason. However, he lit it up in the second quarter and found his rhythm. He ended throwing 16-of-25 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. It was an impressive performance for someone looking to both make the roster and win the primary backup job.

Trevor Davis: Davis returned from injury against the Raiders and was spectacular. He was all over the field including returning punts, taking handoffs and catching passes. He finished with five receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown. He’s likely a lock after this performance.

Darrius Shepard: Shepard couldn’t risk losing a potential roster spot he’s worked so hard for. He made a trio of extremely difficult catches along the sideline, although one didn’t count because of a holding penalty. He ended up with three receptions for 40 yards and was very solid.

J.K. Scott: Scott took his play to the next level against the Raiders, as he punted the ball seven times for an average of 47.1 yards per punt, including one 66-yarder. It’s nice to see him do this with some regularity and, hopefully, this is the start of something big for him.

Losers:

The NFL: What an embarrassment. The field was not ready for NFL action, as the grounds crew was working diligently leading up to game time in order to repair the endzones where the Canadian Football League goalposts usually are. In an era where player safety is supposedly preached, this was the exact opposite.

Fans: Continuing with the embarrassment, some fans actually had to pay money to get into the stadium and watch two professional teams play on an 80-yard field. Even those who watched via television suffered. This was an ugly, ugly event for the league and everyone involved.

DeShone Kizer: For as well as Boyle played, Kizer played equally horribly. He was erratic and unable to do anything with the offense in the second half. He finished the night 4-of-7 for 24 yards and one interception. He’s probably not in danger of getting cut, but he could lose the primary backup job.

Injuries: Predictably, the Packers lost a plethora of players. Whether it was due to the field or not is up in the air, but injuries aren’t a good think. Rashan gary (neck), Curtis Bolton (knee) and Equanimous St. Brown (lower leg) were the two most serious. It’s pure speculation, but St. Brown could be done for the season based on how nasty his injury looked. Tyler Lancaster and Cole Madison also join the list of players who suffered injuries.