The Green Bay Packers finished the preseason on a high note, completing a memorable fourth comeback and beating the Arizona Cardinals by a 42-38 final score on Friday night at Lambeau Field.
Who played well and who struggled for Matt LaFleur's team in the preseason finale?
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ preseason win over the Cardinals:
Top 5 offense
- WR J. Michael Sturdivant: 88.0
- WR Kisean Johnson: 81.1
- QB Kyle McCord: 79.9
- OL Brant Banks: 71.2
- OL Donovan Jennings: 70.0
Sturdivant and Johnson combined to catch 10 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns, including four contested catches and three passes thrown over 20 yards. McCord threw four touchdown passes without a turnover. More on him later. Banks didn't allow a pressure and was decent as a run blocker over 26 snaps at right tackle. Jennings was the team's highest
rated pass blocker over 23 snaps at left guard.
Top 5 defense
- DL Jaden Crumedy: 82.7
- EDGE Nyjalik Kelly: 80.0
- EDGE Arron Mosby: 76.9
- CB Kamal Hadden: 70.3
- LB Kristian Welch: 66.2
Crumedy had two pressures, including a quarterback hit resulting in an interception, and he also produced a batted down pass and a run stop. Kelly had a team-high four pressures and four stops, plus an interception. Mosby had an interception in the fourth quarter, plus two run stops and three pressures. Hadden didn't allow a reception against his coverage and was solid against the run. Welch missed three tackles but was solid against the run, and he made seven total tackles.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Drake Dabney: 35.8
- TE Messiah Swinson: 38.6
- OL Darian Kinnard: 41.6
- TE McCallan Castles: 49.7
- OL Travis Glover: 52.5
Dabney and Swinson both dropped passes, and they combined for one catch on three targets for four yards, despite running 30 total routes. Dabney also gave up a quarterback hit in protection. Kinnard was dinged for a holding penalty and allowing a sack while playing eight snaps at right guard and 10 at right tackle with the third unit. Castles didn't have a catch and was below average as a run blocker. Glover was the second-lowest graded run blocker (Kinnard was last).
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Domani Jackson: 28.6
- EDGE Arden Walker: 36.5
- DL Anthony Campbell: 45.2
- S Tra Fluellen: 46.5
- CB Shemar Bartholomew: 48.9
Jackson allowed four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, and he also missed two tackles. A nightmare performance. Walker didn't have a pressure or a stop over 28 snaps, and he struggled against the run. Campbell was excellent as a pass-rusher, registering three pressures, but he missed a tackle and struggled against the run. Fluellen gave up two catches for 40 yards against his coverage. Bartolomew gave up two catches.
Special teams
Wide receiver Chris Hilton earned a near elite special teams grade after making two tackles and assisting on another. Shemar Bartholomew also had two tackles. Domani Jackson had a penalty on special teams. Trey Smack made both of his field goals and all three extra points, but three of his eight kickoffs ended up as touchbacks. Will Sheppard was the star, returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback play
- Kyle McCord: 79.9
McCord played the entire game, completing 22 of 35 passes (62.9 percent) for 226 yards, four touchdowns and zero turnovers. He produced three "big time throws" and zero "turnover worthy plays," and his adjusted completion percentage when accounting for drops was 75.8. McCord took three sacks and was under pressure on eight dropbacks, but he was excellent was kept clean (87.4 grade). He also threw two touchdown passes off play-action and completed three passes thrown over 20 yards in the air, including two scores.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers PFF grades: Best, worst players from preseason win over Cardinals
