Fundamental miscues plagued the Green Bay Packers in their preseason opening loss Saturday night to the New York Jets, 30-10. A handful of drops, seven penalties, and two lost fumbles highlighted the blooper reel. The usual preseason caveats did little to tame scores of angry fans online, or coach Matt LaFleur’s frustration with the performance.

“Bottom line, you don’t want to put bad football out there,” LaFleur said via packers.com. “Whether it’s preseason or not, it’s a little disappointing I would say. You have to have the urgency to fix it, and it’s got to get fixed fast because the regular season is going to be here in no time.”

The Packer starters left much to be desired after seeing live action for the first time in eight months. The first-team offense picked up where it left off last year with drops and inconsistent play. Green Bay followed up a quick 3-and-out with a drive that stalled at midfield when quarterback Jordan Love took a sack. Newly extended tackle Zach Tom was beat on the play.

The defensive starters matched the offense’s execution. In their one series, the starting defense allowed the Jets to march 79 yards in 10 plays capped by a 13-yard Justin Fields touchdown scramble for the game’s first score. The former Chicago Bears quarterback stepped through the pass rush and outraced Kesian Nixon to the edge and across the goal line. The Jets – playing their starting offense – found plenty of success through the middle of the field on the drive, with both the run and pass. 

Rookie Matthew Golden executed the two best plays for Packer offensive starters. First on a third and seven, he quickly beat the cornerback inside at the line of scrimmage and made a strong hands catch in traffic for the conversion. On the following third down, Golden beat all-pro cornerback Sauce Gardner on the route and drew defensive pass interference to convert. 

The second-team defense provided Lambeau Field with the biggest jolt of the first half. Early in the second quarter on a fourth and one from his own 25, camp darling Nazir Stackhouse bottled up the line of scrimmage on the Braelon Allen rush attempt. Linebacker Kristian Welch scraped over for the tackle and turnover on downs.

The second-team offense answered with a seven-play, 46-yard drive that ended in a Brandon McManus field goal, 7-3. The Jets committed two personal fouls on the drive for 30 penalty yards, both on late hits out of bounds. The preseason follies leveled up later in the second quarter.

On a third and seven from his own seven, backup quarterback Malik Willis took a sack and fumble just inside the goal line which the Jets recovered for a touchdown, 14-3. Sean Rhyan – serving as the backup center – was beat on the play.

Then, with 3:04 remaining in the half, return specialist Mecole Hardman attempted to field a punt on the bounce. The ball skipped to his side and Hardman was unable to pin it to his hip as the Jets’ punt team swarmed, forcing another fumble and recovering it at the Green Bay nine. The second-team defense stood tall again and held New York to a field goal as the Packers entered halftime down 17-3. 

The third quarter proved to be a continuation of the first half. The Jets scored a touchdown on tight end screen to Stone Smart from the 24-yard line for a 24-3 lead. Smart had a convoy escort him to the endzone as the Packer defense failed to react to the pulling linemen. The Jets added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 27-3.

The Packers third-quarter offense, now led by third-string quarterback Sean Clifford, was inept as it failed to pick up one first down in two series. The team’s first first down in the second half occurred at the 13:09 mark in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard Amar Johnson run. Two plays later, Johnson delivered the biggest Packer highlight of the night. 

The undrafted South Dakota State running back bolted through the right side before breaking a tackle and scampering 39 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-10. After bouncing off the safety, Johnson outran another defensive back to the pylon. Second round rookie lineman Anthony Belton pancaked a linebacker to start the run. Johnson finished with seven carries for 67 yards and the touchdown. 

The Jets added a field goal on a 14-play drive that took almost nine minutes off the clock to make it 30-10 with 2:54 remaining. Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma saw his only action on the ensuing series. He led the offense into field goal range and converted a fourth-and-five on the game’s last play. 

Second year offensive lineman Jordan Morgan delivered one of the most encouraging overall performances. The former first round pick out of Arizona started at left tackle for an injured Rasheed Walker, and didn’t allow a pressure or commit a penalty in one half of play. The broadcast didn’t mention his name, which is a compliment to a lineman’s play more often than not. 

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for fellow second year lineman Jacob Monk. Monk committed three holding penalties, and allowed a sack in approximately three quarters of play.

Other Game Notes

• Chris Brooks handled the starting running back duties. Josh Jacobs was not listed on the injury report but did not play. Israel Abanikanda shared the backup duties with Johnson. 
• Jordan Love had two series with the starters and went a mere 1-for-5 for seven yards. 
• Barryn Sorrell had two pressures in one series during the second quarter. One of the pressures nearly forced an interception. The fourth-round rookie from Texas had strong game overall. 
• Zayne Anderson injured his knee in the first quarter and jogged off. Running back Jalen White had a foot injury.
• The Packers will travel to Indianapolis this week in preparation for their second preseason game at the Colts. The teams will have a joint practice Thursday before their noon game Saturday.