RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Green Bay Packers took the field on Thursday night but fell 28-9 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first of three preseason matchups.
Fortunately, wins and losses are irrelevant this time of year, and the lopsided result still produced some standouts.
Here's who stood out for the Packers in Pittsburgh:
Edge Lukas Van Ness
An impressive offseason that carried over into training camp has now led to a strong start to the preseason for the 2023 first-round pick. On the defense’s opening drive, Van Ness displayed strong effort and nearly got home after a nice pass rush on second-and-6. A blitzing Zaire Franklin was officially credited with the sack, but it was Van Ness who applied the initial pressure and ended up on top of Mason Rudolph. It was exactly the kind of play you want to see from the guy who will be your top edge rusher in the absence of Micah Parsons when the regular season starts.
Edge Brenton Cox Jr.
Now in his fourth year with the team, Cox looked like a guy worthy of snaps during the regular season. On a first-and-10 to start the second quarter, he set the tone by driving starting right tackle Dylan Cook into the lap of Rudolph for a 9-yard sack. Later in the same quarter, Cox got pressure on Will Howard to force a throwaway. Cox has shown steady improvement since joining the team in 2023 as an undrafted free agent.
S Kitan Oladapo
The Packers sent so much pressure on Thursday that the third-year safety recorded a sack. It was 3rd-and-long in the second quarter when Oladapo came off the edge and chased Will Howard out of bounds to force a punt. Oladapo has primarily been used on special teams throughout his career, so it was good to see him make a play on defense and show his potential versatility.
S Murvin Kenion III
The Packers need someone who can contribute on special teams and round out the safety room, and tonight that looked like a role best suited for Kenion. The undrafted rookie out of Nevada flew around the field on Thursday to record a team-high six tackles, all of which were solo. He was also in coverage on an incompletion in the red zone. Kenion isn’t a lock to make the team, but he made a pretty compelling case in his preseason debut.
QB Kyle McCord
The former Philadelphia Eagles draft pick handled himself well behind shaky protection to go 12-for-16 for 102 passing yards. With 46 seconds left in the first half, McCord ran an effective two-minute offense, leading a 35-yard drive to get Green Bay into field goal range. He also showed really good poise on a couple of completions against imminent pressure. Tyrod Taylor is cemented as the Packers' backup, but McCord looked like a viable practice squad option if he doesn’t sign elsewhere.
K Trey Smack
Smack came into Thursday’s preseason opener making just 72 percent of his field goal attempts in practice. Only three kicks ended up counting, but the rookie responded by making all four of his attempts in Pittsburgh. His first attempt was a 58-yarder that split the uprights but was negated by a roughing the snapper penalty. However, Smack got another chance from 58 yards just before halftime and drilled that one as well. His other two makes were right down the middle from 37 and 38 yards. There’s still a long way to go before he’s named the kicker for Week 1, but this was exactly the performance you wanted to see after an up-and-down start to training camp.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 6 standouts from Packers' preseason loss to the Steelers
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