DENVER – The Packers chalked up a preseason win Friday night, beating the Broncos 33-13 at Empower Field at Mile High.
Both starting offenses traded touchdowns on their opening drives. Packers QB Jordan Love was 5-of-7 for 56 yards and a TD pass to RB MarShawn Lloyd. Denver QB Bo Nix, who stayed in for a second series and added a field goal, was 6-of-9 for 76 yards and a TD, to RB RJ Harvey.
Green Bay's No. 2 QB Tyrod Taylor (4-of-8, 17 yards) also threw a TD pass to WR Will Sheppard, and a 68-yard kickoff return by Pierre Strong Jr. set up a long Trey Smack field goal. Then the Packers ended the first half with two more field goals sandwiched around an interception by S Mark Perry, who picked off Broncos backup QB Jarrett Stidham. Green Bay led at halftime, 23-10.
Smack had his second straight impressive preseason outing, making all four of his FG tries from 51, 59, 43 and 38 yards. He also made all three PATs.
Strong led the Packers' ball carriers with eight carries for 37 yards, while RB Jaden Nixon had four carries for 20 yards and a TD early in the fourth quarter.
Sheppard finished with six catches for 47 yards, and WR Isaiah Neyor had three for 47 yards. No. 3 QB Kyle McCord was 12-of-19 for 118 yards.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers and Broncos tied at 7 after first quarter
The Packers won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. Skyy Moore returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the Packers' 37. Christian Watson caught a quick slant for 15 yards on second down to cross midfield.
Two MarShawn Lloyd runs gained five yards and Green Bay faced fourth-and-inches after a neutral zone infraction. Jordan Love connected with Matthew Golden over the middle on a playaction rollout for 20 yards to move the ball to the Denver 20.
Lloyd's 2-yard stretch run set up first-and-goal at the 10. Green Bay initially was pushed back 10 yards when Jacob Monk was flagged for holding on the next play, but Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad was then called for defensive pass interference to give Green Bay a fresh set of downs.
Green Bay went ahead 7-0 when Lloyd scored an 11-yard touchdown off a choice route from the backfield with 8 minutes, 25 seconds left in the first quarter. The 12-play, 63-yard scoring drive lasted 6:35.
Denver started at its own 35 after Trey Smack's kickoff landed in the end zone. Courtland Sutton laid out for a second-and-5 pass but couldn't get his feet down. Sean Payton unsuccessfully challenged the ruling and lost a timeout.
Bo Nix converted on third down with a 35-yard pass to Jaylin Waddle down the seam to the Green Bay 25. The Broncos struck again on third-and-6 when Nix floated in a 21-yard touchdown pass to R.J. Harvey to tie the game at 7 with 5:53 left in the first quarter.
Tyrod Taylor replaced Love on the second series. The Packers' starting quarterback completed 5-of-7 passes for 56 yards and the TD (134.5 passer rating).
Green Bay converted the initial first down with a Lloyd 7-yard run on second-and-7 but were forced to punt after Taylor's third-and-6 pass to Moore fell incomplete.
Packers lead Broncos 23-10 at halftime
The second quarter began with the Broncos facing third-and-18 after Kamal Hadden tackled Jonah Coleman for a 2-yard loss, one play after Nix fumbled the snap for a 5-yard loss.
Coleman gained five yards on a run to set up Will Lutz for a 53-yard field goal that put Denver up 10-7 with 14:07 left in the first half.
Pierre Strong found a hole up the middle and returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to the Denver 32. Green Bay was backed up 10 yards, though, after a holding call on Jager Burton on first down.
The Packers picked up nine yards on a slant to Moore before Trey Smack made a 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 12:04 left in the first half.
The kickoff was returned to the Green Bay 45 before Smack made the tackle, but the Broncos lost five yards on first down after Isaiah McDuffie broke through the line to bring down Jaleel McLaughlin.
The play set up a quick three-and-out for Denver. The Packers almost went three-and-out but a defensive pass interference penalty on Kris Abrams-Draine gave Green Bay a first down at the Broncos' 42.
The Packers moved across midfield after a 6-yard Moore end around and a 12-yard Strong run to the Denver 40. Broncos outside linebacker Que Robinson was called for roughing Taylor on third-and-3 for another first down.
A 7-yard slant to Bo Melton set up first-and-goal at the Denver 3. On third-and-goal, Taylor connected with Will Sheppard on an out for the 2-yard touchdown to put Green Bay ahead 17-10 with 3:07 left in the half.
Devon Key caught a 25-yard pass to get Denver going on its next possession. Benjamin St-Juste broke up a pass down the sideline on the next play. Denver turned the ball over on downs after Jarrett Stidham tried a deep ball on fourth-and-4 from the Green Bay 40.
Kyle McCord entered the game with 1:54 left in the half. Taylor went 4-of-8 for 17 yards and a TD. J. Michael Sturdivant caught an 8-yard pass but was slow to get up after the play.
Green Bay converted one first down before sending out Smack for a 59-yard field goal that extended Green Bay's lead to 20-10 with 50 seconds left in the half.
On the first play of the Broncos' next series, Packers safety Mark Perry picked off Stidham and returned the ball to the Denver 32.
After an 8-yard pass to Sheppard, Smack made a 43-yard field goal to send the Packers into halftime with a 23-10 lead.
Packers lead Broncos 23-13 after three
Starting at the Broncos' 27, Stidham found an open Lil'Jordan Humphrey over the middle for an 18-yard gain on third-and-4. A holding penalty and Hadden's 5-yard tackle for a loss of Tyler Badie stymied Denver's momentum and the Broncos were forced to punt.
Strong gained 12 yards on back-to-back carries before McCord flung an 11-yard pass to tight end Messiah Swinson on an out to the sideline.
Green Bay punted after McCord was sacked on third-and-10 and Denver took over at its 43. Stidham converted a third-and-11 situation with a 12-yard pass to Cameron Ross to the Green Bay 46.
Stidham converted on third-and-3 from the Packers' 24 with a scramble up the middle. MJ Devonshire Jr. broke up a second-and-11 pass and Stidham missed wide on third down, leading to a 38-yard Lutz field goal to cut Green Bay's lead to 23-13 with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Packers started at their 40 after Lutz's kickoff bounced out of bounds. With time to throw, McCord completed a 27-yard pass to Isaiah Neyor off playaction to end the quarter.
Packers upend the Broncos, 33-13
Green Bay opened the fourth quarter with moved into the red zone when McCord and Neyor connected for an 11-yard completion on third-and-7. Jaden Nixon then busted a 16-yard run up the middle to the Denver 3.
Nixon scored two plays later on a 3-yard touchdown to push the Packers' lead to 30-13 with 12:31 left in regulation.
Sam Ehlinger entered the game at quarterback for Denver and led the Broncos into Packers' territory before Nyjalik Kelly and Anthony Campbell sacked him on back-to-back plays to force a punt.
Green Bay took over at its 21 but quickly moved into Broncos' territory. A McCord sneak on third-and-1 gave the Packers a first down at the Denver 42. He then completed a 20-yard pass to Sheppard as the game reached the two-minute warning one play later.
Smack improved to 4-for-4 on the evening when he made a 38-yard field goal to put the Packers up 33-13 with 1:05 remaining.
