Packers’ Season Nightmare Foreshadowed at Joint Practice

Will the Green Bay Packers be able to compete for a playoff berth, let alone contend for a Super Bowl championship, without a premier pass rusher or without a premier cornerback?

The worst fears were exposed by Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks during Thursday’s joint practice.

Of course, that sky-is-falling sentence comes with a few crucial asterisks. No, the Packers didn’t spend the week game-planning for the Seahawks. No, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley didn’t dig to o far into his playbook. Yes, joint practices can be as irrelevant as the preseason; see the Packers’ overwhelming pass rush during last year’s joint practice against the Ravens as Exhibit A.

Nonetheless, Darnold and his premier receiver tandem of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp had their way with Green Bay’s defense. You can pretend otherwise – and Green Bay’s defensive backs certainly did afterward – but that has to be at least a little concerning considering the Packers will start the season against:

- The Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jamison Williams in Game 1.

- The Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin (presumably) and Deebo Samuel in Game 2.

- The Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in Game 4.

- The Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Game 5.

- And so on.

A third-down period might not be a reason to hit the panic button, but it might be a reason to rifle through the junk drawer to find i t. Darnold and Seattle’s No. 1 offense ran six plays during the segment. The results:

- Third-and-2, complete to Smith-Njigba, who made a sensational one-handed catch for a first down against Carrington Valentine.

- Third-and-4, complete to tight end A.J. Barner for a first down against Javon Bullard.

- Third-and-6, complete to Smith-Njigba for a first down against Kalen King.

- Third-and-7, a screen to running back Kenneth Walker, which was read perfectly by Kenny Clark and Quay Walker for a stop.

- Third-and-9, complete over the middle to Smith-Njigba, who let the world know that he beat Green Bay’s secondary for yet another first down.

- Third-and-11, incomplete, but officials threw three flags against King for pass interference.

Last season, the Packers finished 12th in the NFL in third-down defense, with opponents converting 37.5 percent. The Seahawks during that period converted 83.3 percent, including two on third-and-long.

OK, so that was one period. How about a seven-on-seven red-zone period? Darnold completed 5-of-6 passes with three consecutive touchdown passes. Two went to Smith-Njigba, including one against Keisean Nixon.

Fine, but that’s seven-on-seven. It’s barely football. How about the real red-zone period? The run defense was great – Rashan Gary had back-to-back stops near the line of scrimmage and King had a tackle for loss – but Darnold completed all three passes, including touchdowns to tight end Elijah Arroyo, who made a one-handed catch against Quay Walker, and Smith-Njigba.

The Packers did win the 2-minute drill, with Warren Brinson’s pass rush setting up a highlight-reel interception , but it was a reality check for a defense that destroyed the Colts last week in Indiana.

“I think the multiple defenses that they run, the way they like to move their safeties around, they do a good job,” Darnold, who scorched the Packers for 652 passing yards and six touchdowns with the Vikings last season, said afterward.

“I think their nickel [Bullard] does a really good job of understanding leverages and not giving any tips or giving anything away in that way. And then that defensive line knows how to rush the passer. We had to game-plan a lot for the rush when I was in Minnesota, and that’s a credit to those guys, guys like Rashan, Kenny. You’ve got some beasts up front and you’ve got to be able to play against guys like that.”

Smith- Njigba is one of the best young receivers in the NFL. The Packers, however, will face elite receivers all season. For all the talk of the great quarterbacks on the schedule – and that’s true – the Packers will go against this gauntlet of receivers:

- The top five in receptions from last season.

- Five of the seven who had 10-plus receiving touchdowns.

- Ten of the 16 who had at least 1,050 receiving yards.

The performance against Smith-Njigba wasn’t encouraging.

“Yeah, he’s a beast, man,” safety Evan Williams said of Smith-Njigba. “He’s just a guy that’s really smooth in all of his routes. He kind of reminds me of like a J-Reed, an 11 on our team. Just a guy that makes everything look the same, and those are some of the hardest receivers to guard. They’re pushing up the field and you don’t know if they’re really running, going vertica l, you don’t know if they’re going to break. He’s definitely a guy that’s really sudden at the break point. I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy and I’m sure he’s going to tear it up this year.”

Williams is right, but the Packers are going to get receivers and quarterbacks like Smith-Njigba and Darnold – and better than them – all season.

Of course, it’s important to note the Packers’ defense will be better when Xavier McKinney and Nate Hobbs are healthy. McKinney took a step in that direction on Thursday.

Nonetheless, a 2-hour snapshot at the end of training camp revealed the same season-defining question that existed after the first wave of free agency was complete in mid-March, after the NFL Draft concluded in late April, after Jaire Alexander was released in early June and when training camp started on July 23 exists today.

When push comes to shove and the game is on the line – or the season is on the line – do the Packers have the ability to stop a premier quarterback and a premier receiver?

Maybe Lukas Van Ness will rise to the occasion. Maybe Nixon will continue defying his detractors.

Or maybe the combination of decent cornerbacks and a decent pass rush will lead to merely decent results.

“I think joint practice always been productive because you still getting good work,” Nixon said. “The fights, it is what it is, but you’re still working, still going against other competition in a physical setting that you’re not going to usually get vs. your own teammates, especially during the season. You rarely practice for real, full go like that, so it was good to get our last little hoorah before we see anybody during the season.”