Lingering dark cloud continues to hang over the Packers in first preseason action after haunting them last year

In the first half, combining Love and backup Malik Willis, the Packers completed five of 14 passes, but had something between six and eight drops depending on how you see it. Romeo Doubs, Malik Heath (twice), Israel Abanikanda, Mecole Hardman, and Julian Hicks had them. Doubs and Hicks also couldn't catch 50/50 balls that you can consider as drops or not. And oh, Mecole Hardman also muffed a punt that was recovered by the Jets. Matthew Golden was an island . Late in the game, Isaiah Neyor dropped a pass from Taylor Elgersma as well, even though the ball went a little behind him.

It was a truly impressive performance, in a negative way, by the Packers' targets. Curiously, the two worst Packers receivers in drops last year, Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed, did not play on Saturday. It's a problem that's all around the offense.

Offensive line, the good and bad

Without Rasheed Walker, last year's first-round pick Jordan Morgan played at left tackle, and he had a fairly solid performance. After a rough outing on Family Night a week ago, Morgan felt much more comfortable against the Jets, anchoring better and using his hands more naturally.

While Jordan Love was on the field, the Packers tried to pass the ball quickly to avoid risks, but Morgan stayed at left tackle with the twos and got more exposure.

The problems the Packers had were along the interior with the twos. Sean Rhyan moved from right guard to center with the backups and gave up a sack on Malik Willis, who fumbled the ball and allowed a defensive touchdown. Playing at right guard, last year's fifth-rounder Jacob Monk had the worst performance upfront in the first half, with pressures and penalties—three holdings and a third-down sack among the issues.

The bright spot there was left guard Donovan Jennings, an undrafted player in 2024 who spent his rookie season on the practice squad. He showed decent skills to pass protect, but especially to move people in the run game.

Anthony Belton played at right tackle with the twos and threes. Late in the game, he had a great block leading the way for an Amar Johnson rushing touchdown.

Secondary solution and issues in the middle

Without cornerback Nate Hobbs and safety Xavier McKinney , both handling injuries that will most likely make them miss the entire preseason, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley had to find some creative solutions to build the secondary. As expected, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine played as boundary corners, and Evan Williams was at safety.

However, the coaching staff opted to prioritize Javon Bullard in the slot, with Zayne Anderson deep at first—and when Anderson hurt his knee, Kitan Oladapo. When the defense needed to go to base, Bullard moved to safety, with linebacker Isaiah Simmons replacing Oladapo.

The defensive backs played fine overall, and Kalen King had excellent moments with two pass breakups in the end zone. But playing vanilla forced the Packers to open the middle of the field too much. The Jets were able to exploit the middle, especially the linebackers in coverage, throughout most of the game. Isaiah McDuffie and Isaiah Simmons, in particular, had poor performances—Kristian Welch was the most positively active linebacker in the game.