Green Bay Packers risers and fallers after preseason loss vs. 49ers

The Green Bay Packers have a loaded roster and plenty of young talent was on display against the San Francisco 49ers in preseason Week 1, a 2021 NFL playoffs rematch but with two very different quarterbacks under center. Instead of back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers going up against Jimmy Garoppolo, it was Jordan Love against Trey Lance in one of the most intriguing “QB matchups” of the entire 2022 preseason.

And there were fireworks from both QBs in this one.

The Packers obviously have very high expectations for this season. Having Aaron Rodgers under center puts pressure on in the first place, but now the Packers clearly have assembled one of the most well-rounded, deepest, and most talented defenses in the entire NFL. They are favorites to come out of the NFC for many, but they’re going to need every player on the 53-man roster to prove his worth.

Which players looked good in preseason action? Which players have a bit to work on or some ground to make up? Let’s take a look at the Packers’ risers and fallers from this week’s action.

Green Bay Packers preseason Week 1: Jordan Love — riser or faller?

Let’s start off with a little bit of controversy. Did Jordan Love play a bad game against the San Francisco 49ers? Well, the box score shows he had three interceptions, right? Finishing a game 13-of-24 passing with three interceptions — despite having a pair of touchdowns — is sure to bring out the boo birds among the Lambeau Faithful, right?

Well, every interception has a story. You certainly don’t want to see them, but let’s break some of them down here.

One interception went right off the hands of backup tight end Tyler Davis, a player fighting for a roster spot. The ball hit him and bounced straight up into the air, falling into the waiting arms of a 49ers defender. Not a bad throw from Love, just a bad play by the receiver.

The second interception was just an incredible play by 49ers defensive back Samuel Womack, who took the ball out of the hands of Romeo Doubs fractions of a second before Doubs hit the ground after making the catch.

The third interception? Well, this one was definitely on Jordan Love.

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1558267633258024960

Love had some off-target throws in this game. He certainly wasn’t perfect, but he did flash quite a bit as well. He threw this absolute beauty of a touchdown pass to rookie sensation Romeo Doubs early on, on 4th-and-3, no less:

His second touchdown pass on the night was a really great run after the catch from Packers receiver Danny Davis, a rookie free agent fighting for a spot on the roster or practice squad.

Overall, though, what do we make of this preseason debut for Jordan Love? You can’t exactly fault him for a couple of the turnovers but he made other errant throws in this game that certainly you’d rather not see at this stage of his career. Love is in his third NFL season at this point and he’s getting as many reps as the Packers can give him in the preseason because he’s going to be riding the pine if Aaron Rodgers is healthy.

At this point, I don’t think you could effectively say he was a “riser” in this game but I’m not sure his bad throws were enough to call him a “faller” either. We’re going to cop out on this one and just say that Jordan Love is on the cusp of “faller” status but he’s falling somewhere in the middle after the Packers’ first preseason game.