The Packers elevated RB Kenyan Drake from the practice squad and claimed CB David Long on waivers, meaning he will be on the 53-man roster mostly likely for at least the next three weeks.  Drake and Long did not play against the Giants.  Also active but not playing were Sean Clifford and OLB Brenton Cox.  The inactive players were Quay Walker, Christian Watson, Jaire Alexander, and Aaron Jones due to injury, along with healthy scratches in Caleb Jones and Klu Kelly.      

The Packers gained 123 yards on 25 carries for a 4.92-yard per carry average.  The running backs gained 83 yards on 19 carries for a 4.37-yard average.  The run blocking was reasonably good.  The offensive line allowed 8 quarterback hits and 2 sacks.  Those numbers are not atypical for a team to allow.  The problem was that the Giants defensive line got a very good and consistent push up the middle all game.  NT Dexter Lawrence worked over all of the interior offensive linemen, particularly Runyan and Myers, who often were on skates.  Love was not able to step up in the pocket or find creases through which to run.  Also, DE/OLB Azeez Ojulari entered the game with 199 snaps, 1 quarterback hit and no tackles for loss but he was able to add 3 QB hits and 1 TFL to those statistics working mostly against Walker and Nijman.  It is tough to be sure just watching it live on television but I got the impression that the Packers did not run very many long-developing pass routes in this game.  They certainly ran a number of long-developing gadget plays, though. 

Dillon gained 53 yards on 15 carries (3.5-yard average) with a long of 8.  He caught 2 of 3 targets for 25 yards with a long of 35.  Dillon lost 10 yards on a screen that was doomed from the start when Dillon ran into a pulling teammate, fell to the ground but was able to catch Love's pass only to be squashed for a big loss.  Taylor gained 30 yards on 4 carries for a 7.5-yard average with a long of 14.  Taylor still needs to learn when to go out of bounds.  He also caught 2 passes for 22 yards with a long of 16.  Dillon ran 14 routes and Taylor ran 20 pass routes.

It almost seems like LaFleur is conceding that Dillon cannot do any significant damage when running wide.  If he wants to challenge the defense horizontally, he uses Reed or (when healthy) Watson to get to and turn the corner.  Heck, earlier in the year he used Musgrave.  Still, Dillon showed a nice move on his catch with some yards after the catch on his long pass reception.  The Packers chose to elevate Kenyan Drake, who they only signed on Tuesday, rather than FB Henry Pearson, who I thought missed some blocks last week.  It may be that the team is conserving his elevations, but if Drake has anything left in the tank, Pearson (and perhaps Taylor) could be in jeopardy.

Tucker Kraft caught all 4 of his targets for 64 yards (16-yard average) with a long of 43.  He has come along nicely since Musgrave had to go on injured reserve.  The outlook for the tight end position looks bright.  Kraft ran 40 routes, per PFF.  Sims and Deguara had no statistics.  Sims ran 5 routes and Deguara 2.  The Packers have taken to using a tight end to pass block a defensive end or OLB, sometimes two TEs, and sometimes after the TE gets beat they have a running back waiting to pick up the rusher.  They have even pulled Myers to pick up the rusher.  I did not see that against the Giants, but will look for it when I watch the game for a second time.

Reed caught 8 or 10 targets for just 27 yards, a 3.4 yards per catch average, with a long of 8.  That isn't going to cut it as a receiver but Reed added 38 rushing yards on 4 carries, including a touchdown run.  Reed ran 28 pass routes (0.96 yards/route run) and got 4 carries.  Doubs caught 4 of 7 targets for 32 yards, an 8-yard average, with a long of 14.  I sometimes wonder if Doubs can catch a pass without double-clutching it.  Doubs ran 40 routes for just a 0.80 yards per route run average.  That is not going to cut it, either.  Toure caught 2 of 4 targets for 22 yards with a long of 16 on 11 routes.  He had a chance to catch a touchdown pass but could not get his feet down.  Wicks caught 2 of 6 targets for 20 yards with a long of 19.  Wicks ran 26 routes for a miserable 0.77-yards per route run.  Heath caught 1 of 2 targets for 6 yards and a touchdown.  Heath ran 11 routes, gaining 0.55 yards per route run. 

There was not much going on downfield.  To be fair, Love was not accurate in this game.  Pro Football Focus noted that the Giants play a lot of man coverage, and suggested that the Green Bay receivers who played are better against zone coverage schemes.  Wicks has been very good against both zone and man per multiple sites, including playerprofiler.  So has Heath and Reed.  Playerprofiler suggests that Doubs struggles against man coverage.  Wicks left the game with a knee injury and did not return.   

Love completed 25 of 39 (64.1%) for 218 yards (5.59-yards per attempt) with 1 TD and 1 interception.  He finished with a passer rating of 76.7.  He scrambled twice for 2 yards.  He missed some wide open receivers and made some of the passes that he completed more difficult than they should have been.  Besides missing some of the lay-ups, he under threw and was a little late with a pass or two, notably a pass in the end zone to Toure, who clearly had beaten the cornerback.  He completely missed some easy third-down passes early in the game.  Love had "happy feet" a bit due to a consistent rush.

The Giants gained 209 yards on 34 carries for a 6.1-yard average.  That is terrible, but again, this is a Jekyll and Hyde situation.  The Packers held Barkley to 18 yards on 9 carries in the first half only to see him gain 66 yards on 11 carries in the second half with a long of 34.  And since Barkley was kind enough to fumble without contact on his long run, with Valentine recovering it and returning it for 50 yards, so that gash did not hurt.  I was comfortable that the Packers could stop the Giants in short-yardage situations, which they did several times.  The Packers played 2.52 true defensive linemen per play, a somewhat higher than normal number.  The problem was rushing yards by the quarterback, Tommy Devito, and by wide receiver Wandale Robinson, who combined gained 107 on 12 rushes, including some gash plays.  

Wyatt had 4 solo tackles including a tackle for loss.  Clark had 3 solo tackles, 2 of which were for loss.  Wooden had 2 solo tackles in limited snaps (7) while Slaton and Brooks each had 2 tackles (1 solo).  No defensive lineman had a quarterback hit.  Devito led the NFL in sacks per pressure because he lacks pocket awareness, but against the Packers he wormed his way through line, often enough up the middle rather than by rolling out, to pick up 71 rushing yards on 10 carries with a long of 26.  The tackle numbers are smaller than normal because the Giants only ran 56 plays, including 34 rushing attempts.  

Campbell had 6 tackles (4 solo).  He crashed a gap on first and goal from the one but just plain missed Barkley, who broke some arm tackles and scored a touchdown on the play.  McDuffie had 7 tackles (5 solo) including a tackle for loss.  Wilson had 1 solo tackle on a run off right end; Preston Smith held the edge beautifully and Wilson cleaned up.  Gary had 2 tackles (1 solo) and 2 quarterback hits, the only ones the Packers were credited with.  Gary has to not always run the arc: when he gets even with the quarterback he needs to bull rush towards the QB, hopefully pushing the QB into the OLB on the opposite side or making him step up into the jaws of the defensive linemen.  Van Ness had 2 tackles (1 solo) and Enagbare had 1 solo tackle.  Preston Smith had 1 assisted tackle.  When playing a team with one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, the Packers need more out of the OLBs and defensive linemen.  

Savage had 7 tackles (6 solo).  Valentine had 4 solo tackles and Nixon added 4 tackles (3 solo).  Valentine had the 50-yard return on Barkley's unforced fumble and a pass interference penalty.  Owens had 2 solo tackles and Ford and Ballentine each had 1 solo tackle.  Only Wandale Robinson hurt the Packers with 79 receiving yards on 7 targets.  Nixon did not have a good night in pass defense or on special teams.  No other Giant had more than 22 receiving yards.  The Packers had no pass breakups, partly because they played so far away from the receivers that they could have been pen pals.  Aside from throwing 2 un-catchable passes on third down during the Giants first two possessions, Devito completed 17 of 19 passes.  I do not think Devito had a big-time throw.  He had a couple of nice passes.  After the first two possessions, Devito did not miss any lay-ups.  That was one of the differences in the game.  Rudy Ford played a lot of snaps on special teams but just 3 snaps on defense.  I cannot say that I think Owens or Savage is better. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: 

Whelan had a bad game despite averaging 39.7 yards net and gross.  His first punt went just 36 yards where it was fair caught at the 21-yard line.  His second punt went 49 yards with the roll, but it was so short that Rudy Ford leveled the opposing punt returner as he ran forward madly to try to field it.  The net with the penalty was 20 yards.  Whelan's third punt went just 36 yards, but it was muffed and Rudy Ford alertly fell on it at the NY 14-yard line.  The Packers gained 0 yards and kicked a field goal, which came dangerously close to one of the uprights.  So did another of Carlson's attempts.  Carlson missed a 45-yarder and made a 48-yard right down the middle.  Nixon muffed a punt leading to a points on a turnover.

WR: 2.75

TE:  1.25

RB: 1.00

DL: 2.52

ILB: 1.73

OLB: 2.0

DB: 4.75

Photo courtesy of Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Stats courtesy of nflgsis and PFF.