GREEN BAY – Kisean Johnson was only a member of the Packers for the final week of last season, but it was long enough for him to feel what it's like to step inside Lambeau Field.
"We had a walkthrough in Lambeau, and I was just in awe," Johnson said. "I kept telling myself, I gotta play in Lambeau. I don't care if I'm with the Packers or not. I gotta play in Lambeau."
Johnson did more than just achieve that goal on Friday night. He caught two touchdown passes in the final 3 minutes and 19 seconds to power a remarkable 42-38 comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals in Green Bay's preseason finale.
Johnson's first touchdown was nothing short of extraordinary. With the Packers down 11, the 6-foot, 216-pound receiver beat Arizona cornerback Elijah Culp down the right sideline and confidently pulled down the 28-yard score despite pressure from safety Devyn Bobby over the top.
The chances of Green Bay pulling off the comeback appeared remote until edge rusher Arron Mosby picked off Arizona quarterback Kedon Slovis after the two-minute warning.
Packers quarterback Kyle McCord then led a six-play, 44-yard scoring drive, capping it with a 10-yard TD pass to Johnson off the slot to put the Packers up 42-38 with 20 seconds left.
"They called the play that I was messing up on a couple days ago," Johnson said. "I'm like I ain't messing it up this time. This time under the lights, I'm gonna get it right. Coach came up to me and said I saw your feet switch, I knew it was gonna be a touchdown. When he threw it, I knew it was gonna be showtime."
Johnson didn't receive a futures contract after the 2025 season, raising doubt whether he'd get a chance to play inside Lambeau Field. The door reopened earlier this month when the Packers re-signed Johnson due to mounting wideout injuries.
Like so many young players on the roster, Johnson now faces a long wait until Sunday night's final roster cutdown. But whatever happens, the 24-year-old receiver was grateful for his moment at Lambeau Friday night.
"There's something about it," said Johnson, who finished with four catches for 52 yards. "To be able to have the game that I had in Lambeau is something I'm going to take with myself forever."
Stacking momentum: Mosby has developed a bit of a knack for making big plays in the final stretch of the preseason. In fact, he made Green Bay's 53-man roster after an interception and strip sack that led to a touchdown in the finale two years ago against Baltimore.
The 27-year-old edge rusher again played the hero against the Cardinals, being exactly where he was supposed to be in a zone drop and catching a game-altering INT after defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse thudded into Slovis.
"We knew we needed to get at least a second-and-long, third-and-long to try to get after the quarterback," Mosby said. "We called a play for me to drop. I read my keys and the ball just came to me. I'm blessed to be in that situation."
Mosby wasn't the only Green Bay edge rusher to grab an interception off Slovis, either. Rookie Nyjalik Kelly also picked him off on a zone drop in the second quarter, leading to a 12-yard Will Sheppard touchdown two plays later.
The Packers' defense conceded nearly 500 yards to Arizona but finished strong. Its effort was buoyed by three sacks, seven tackles for a loss and 10 quarterback hits.
"The whole last year, our thing was to finish," Mosby said. "Coming into this last game, finishing that was probably the best part for the whole team. Being down, fans probably leaving and things like that and we were still in it. We got one turnover, one stop and another big play on offense. I feel like that shows our character going forward that we're here to finish."
Special returns: One week after Pierre Strong Jr. broke a 68-yard kickoff return in Denver, Sheppard returned a Jack Browning punt 81 yards for a touchdown to give Green Bay its first lead of the game, 24-17, with 4:22 left before halftime.
It was a well-blocked return, giving Sheppard a clear sideline to get to full speed and blitz past Browning for the score.
"Pretty much a lot of the credit goes to return team," Sheppard said. "A lot of people got their blocks and did their job. Spread the field out and really open up the hole for me."
That wasn't all for Sheppard. Three minutes before the punt return, the first-year wideout hauled in the 12-yard TD pass from McCord to key a 21-point second quarter for the offense.
Not letting go: In the aftermath of the victory, J. Michael Sturdivant entered the locker room with a game ball tucked firmly under his arm and it did not leave his side.
"I'm keeping this. I'm probably going to sleep with this," said Sturdivant with a smile.
Understandably so, after the rookie receiver caught six of his seven targets for a game-high 112 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to get the offense going in the second quarter.
As impressive as the TD catch was down the sideline, it came one play after Sturdivant caught a 36-yard pass from McCord over the middle.
Four of the Packers' five longest plays Friday came courtesy of the 6-foot-3, 207-pound wideout, who led the Packers in the preseason with nine catches for 142 yards and the TD.
"You dream of making it to the NFL your whole life," Sturdivant said. "Honestly, you put all the work in to make it happen, so it would be a great feeling (to make the team). But it's not the end goal. My dream wasn't just to make the team for a day. It's going to be a good feeling but, at the end of the day, we're going to have a season to tackle."
McCord's final act: The first-year quarterback played from start to finish, completing 22-of-35 passes for 226 yards and four TDs (119.5 passer rating).
A 2025 sixth-round pick by Philadelphia, McCord signed a futures contract with the Packers after last season and quickly beat out Kyron Drones in the third-string QB competition.
After fashioning a 102.5 passer rating in three preseason appearances, McCord now waits to see if it was good enough to earn a place on Green Bay's active roster.
"It's been a goal since I signed here, to make the 53," McCord said. "I feel like my development here in the past eight months since I signed here has been awesome, just being in that room with the coaches and the guys in there. That's the goal."
