Packers preseason opener: 3 who struggled, 3 who impressed in blowout loss to Jets

New York Times

11 hours ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Before we get to our three winners and three losers from the Packers' 30-10 loss to the Jets in the preseason opener, some news:
Wide receiver Jayden Reed was seen with a walking boot on his left foot in the locker room after the game. He was added to the DNP list at Thursday's practice with what the team called a foot injury. Reed didn't dress Saturday night. Head coach Matt LaFleur said he's hopeful Reed will play in the regular-season opener against the Lions on Sept. 7, but that he's always concerned when a player is in a walking boot. Reed declined to speculate on his availability for Week 1 but said he's 'just a little sore' from cutting wrong off his foot in practice. The Packers are already without wide receiver Christian Watson for the first chunk of their 2025 campaign as he rehabs a torn ACL, and could be without Reed, too, for a pivotal division game to start the season.
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Now back to whatever that was that we watched at Lambeau Field.
'Well, that was a humbling experience,' LaFleur said of the 20-point exhibition drubbing. 'Definitely not what we want to put out there. I don't care, preseason, regular season, it doesn't matter to me. It was just sloppy football. Too many penalties, drops, missed tackles, bad decision-making, and it really showed up in every phase of football. And if you do that, you're going to get your ass kicked, and that's exactly what happened.'
Packers WR Jayden Reed, who was in a walking boot today, on if his injury is a major concern or not👇
'I don't wanna be wrong about anything. So I ain't gonna be the one to say.' pic.twitter.com/pZ5qy8vG6X
— 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) August 10, 2025
Jacob Monk, OL
The second-year offensive lineman and backup right guard appeared to be comfortably on the 53-man roster entering Saturday night, but the Packers might rethink that stance after what they saw against the Jets. The 2024 fifth-round pick, a regular healthy scratch last year, committed three holding penalties and allowed a third-down sack. Monk's first hold negated a 10-yard run by running back Amar Johnson. His second wiped out an 11-yard run by quarterback Malik Willis. His third came on a second-and-6 incompletion and forced the Packers into a second-and-16 from their 14-yard line. Monk also got beaten by defensive tackle Jay Tufele on third-and-14 late in the second quarter, and Tufele sacked Willis for a loss of 7 to the Packers' 26-yard line. Monk said that he's never committed three holding penalties in a game.
'I've just got to get better,' Monk said. 'I felt I haven't done that at all in camp and gotten three holds like that in camp, maybe this whole camp … But it showed up tonight, and it's something that I've got to continue to work on.'
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Mecole Hardman, WR
Hardman, too, seemed penciled into the 53-man roster before Saturday night. For a player who probably wasn't slated to contribute much as a wide receiver come the regular season but still provided value because of his return experience, the preseason opener was a disaster. Hardman fielded a punt on the fly at his 5-yard line (that's a no-no) with a Jet and two Packers nearby and was tackled immediately for no gain by the Jets' Qwan'tez Stiggers after he beat Packers rookie seventh-round cornerback Micah Robinson.
'Catch it inside the 5, try to make something happen,' Hardman said. 'Could have made one man miss, but I didn't, so that's all on me.'
On his second punt return, Hardman misjudged the ball's bounce and muffed the return. The Jets recovered at Green Bay's 9-yard line and turned the takeaway into three points.
'Could have just let it bounce and let it do what it was going to do, but I feel like I was in a position to catch it and get some positive yards, and it didn't roll my way,' Hardman said. 'But it's all good in the end … It's preseason. It's good to get it out of the way now.
'I made two bad decisions, so that's all on me.'
Hardman also dropped a pass, which was a theme among several Packers on Saturday night.
Jets special teams is out here recovering fumbles 👀
Watch on @NFLNetworkStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9gNylj7i11
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025
Sean Rhyan, OL
Rhyan only made one glaring mistake, but it might've been the most costly one of the night. Defensive tackle Leonard Taylor powered around Rhyan's left side while he was playing center — Rhyan is the team's starting right guard and backup center and played the latter with the No. 2 offense Saturday — and stripped Willis on the goal line before Tufele recovered for a Jets touchdown. Nothing is overly concerning in a preseason game, let alone just one of them, but it's hardly settling that a starting offensive lineman was beaten on the heels of his own end zone by a third-string defensive lineman.
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Kingsley Enagbare, DE
The third-year pass rusher made a couple of impact plays against the Jets, starting with his half-tackle on a fourth-down run stuff in Packers territory after shedding the block of backup left tackle Max Mitchell. Enagbare later spun off a block for a tackle for no gain against the run, utilized an inside move on the edge to pressure quarterback Brady Cook into a throwaway, and shed third-string offensive lineman Marquis Hayes for a first-down tackle for loss against the run. Enagbare is one of the players, along with the likes of defensive end Lukas Van Ness, tight end Luke Musgrave and others, who must make a significant Year 1-to-2 or Year 2-to-3 jump for the Packers to close the gap between them and the NFC's elite teams.
Amar Johnson, RB
The undrafted rookie from South Dakota State, the same school that produced tight end Tucker Kraft, stated a strong case for practice-squad inclusion against the Jets. Johnson teased his burst on a couple of runs before his grand finale, a 39-yard scamper for the Packers' lone touchdown. Johnson used the blocks of Monk and right guard Trey Hill to reach the second level, where second-round rookie right tackle Anthony Belton was making pancakes for dinner. Johnson ran right through the tackle attempt of safety Dean Clark before bouncing his run to the left and beating safety Jarius Monroe around the corner to the end zone. Green Bay's running back room is set, whether the Packers keep three or four on the initial 53, but Johnson will be hard to release altogether if he keeps stacking performances like those.
'It was like a dream for me, a dream come true,' Johnson said. 'Just making a guy miss, race to the pylon and Lambeau Leap. The wall's a lot higher than I thought it is … I feel like it's a good step headed in the right direction. Obviously my name might be called a little bit more. I just gotta keep delivering, allow them to feel like they can put me out there and trust me.'
GBTD pic.twitter.com/73eZVMw3Km
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 10, 2025
Matthew Golden, WR
Golden was only targeted twice in his NFL debut, but he made the most of limited reps with the starters. Quarterback Jordan Love hit Golden on a slant to convert a third-and-7 on the second offensive drive with cornerback Brandon Stephens in coverage. Golden, to no surprise of anyone who has watched him in camp, showcased strong hands on a ball out in front on the play. Three plays later, Love looked Golden's way on a third-and-6 slant on the opposite side of the field and the first-rounder drew a defensive pass interference call on two-time first-team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. The rookie's first game action wasn't much, but it was honest work as he continues earning the trust of his quarterback.
'Practice is one thing, but then obviously you've got to go out there and do it in a game,' Love said. 'So M.G., I've seen a lot of great things from him in practice and to go out there and execute a slant route like that and then obviously draw the P.I., it's two good reps for him right there. But there's going to be so much more that we're going to have to build on to keep building this thing, keep figuring each other out and understanding timing and different things like that. But like I said, you always want to be able to see the practice, things like that, translate to the game. So I've got a lot of confidence in MG right now.'
(Top photo of Amar Johnson: Kayla Wolf / Imagn Images)
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