Packer Central

Orange Crush: Packers QBs Clifford, Pratt Struggle at Denver

You know it’s a bad night when a fifth-string defensive end provided the only highlight, but Zach Morton’s safety provided the only scoring for the Packers in their loss at the Broncos.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers quarterback Sean Clifford (10) chases down a fumbled football to start Sunday's game at the Denver Broncos.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Sean Clifford (10) chases down a fumbled football to start Sunday's game at the Denver Broncos. / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
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The Green Bay Packers were trounced 27-2 by the Denver Broncos in Sunday night’s preseason game. The score no doubt was of much less importance to coach Matt LaFleur than the performance of his backup quarterbacks and offensive tackles.

With Jordan Love and almost every starter on the team getting the night off, Sean Clifford got the start at quarterback. On the first play of the game, he and Sean Rhyan botched the center-quarterback exchange.

Clifford recovered to prevent a first-play disaster but struggled against Denver’s starting defense. Then again, everyone struggled against Denver’s starting defense. However, when it was backups vs. backups late in the first half, Clifford threw an interception that set up the Broncos for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

When the offense stepped back on the field with 30 seconds left in the half, LaFleur replaced Clifford with rookie Michael Pratt.

Pratt wasn’t any better. Midway through the third quarter, rookie right tackle Travis Glover was beaten like a drum by third-year defensive end Nik Bonitto. Pratt tried to escape but was sacked and stripped by Jonah Elliss.

Clifford finished 6-of-10 for 43 yards and one interception, good for a passer rating of 30.4. Pratt was 10-of-18 for 52 yards and a 67.7 rating. Neither quarterback was protected adequately by the backup linemen.

Packers training camp will conclude training camp with a practice on Tuesday, a joint practice against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday and the preseason finale against the Ravens at Lambeau Field on Saturday.

General manager Brian Gutekunst will cut the roster to 53 players next Tuesday.

The first real highlight of the night was supplied by Zach Morton. Late in the third quarter, Morton lined up at right defensive end and looped up the middle. Broncos lineman Will Sherman didn’t see Morton until Morton’s No. 60 was on top of quarterback Zach Wilson for a safety.

Morton was signed midway through training camp and is listed fifth on the defensive end depth chart.

Trailing 20-2, the Packers mounted a decent drive after the free kick. Pratt completed two passes for first downs and Emanuel Wilson rumbled for another. But the drive stalled after Lecitus Smith’s holding penalty, and Greg Joseph shanked a 47-yard field goal.

As promised by LaFleur, the Packers relied on their young backups. In fact, two-dozen starters and key backups got the night off.

On offense, every member of the starting offense got to watch from the sideline. On defense, the only starters who played were veteran linebacker Eric Wilson and rookie safety Javon Bullard.

The Broncos played their starters, so the game was a bit of a mismatch.

Offensively, Green Bay’s first three series produced three first downs. It didn’t have a third-down conversion until the fourth possession.

LaFleur wouldn’t use the starters-vs.-backups matchups as an excuse.

“Bottom line, it wasn’t good enough,” LaFleur said during his halftime interview. “We had a lot of busts all across the board. We had some premier plays. We throw a pick against a premier look. We’ve got to do a better job in the second half.”

Defensively, the Broncos went nine plays for a field goal and 11 plays for a touchdown as rookie Bo Nix went 8-of-9 for 80 yards and a touchdown in leading the No. 1 offense for two series. While it was starters vs. backups, the Packers’ touted defensive line depth was underwhelming. Lukas Van Ness had a pressure but that was about it.

“We had some situations where we didn’t get off the grass,” LaFleur said. “We’re just busting a lot of simple things, a lot of Day 1 install things. It’s disappointing.”

Still, it was 10-0 late in the first half when the Packers finally moved past midfield. On the first play after the 2-minute warning, Clifford led tight end Joel Wilson too far on a crossing route and was intercepted by Keidron Smith, whose 56-yard return set up the Broncos at the 14. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham avoided tackles by Brenton Cox and Ralen Gorforth for a 9-yard touchdown.

The half ended with Clifford on the bench and Pratt in the game.

Early in the third quarter, Packers defensive end Arron Mosby came storming toward quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Stidham turned and threw quickly to his left but the ball was deflected by James Ester and intercepted by linebacker Kristian Welch at Denver’s 46.

The Packers wasted the opportunity, too. On fourth-and-1, Pratt’s fastball was a bit too high and a bit too far behind receiver Grant DuBose. The ball went through DuBose’s hands – the Packers probably will deem it a drop – and the Broncos took over on downs.

More Green Bay Packers Training Camp News

Packers-Broncos: Live Updates | Roster Lock-O-Meter before game | How to watch Sunday’s game | Practice highlights | Jordan Love part of scuffle | Four players who need good weekend | Quarterbacks take center stage

Latest news and analysis: Bo Melton looking to rebound |  Jalen Wayne’s famous cousin | Biggest roster battles | Grant DuBose plays with right mentality | New Packers LB Chris Russell | New Packers RB Nate McCrary | Quarterback battle | 53-man roster projection (Westendorf) | Waiting game: Love vs. Williams | No. 1 receivers and vomit | 53-man projection (Huber) 

Training camp highlights: Joint practice vs. Broncos | Practice 15 | Practice 14 | Practice 13 | Practice 12 | Practice 11 | Family Night | Practice 9 | Practice 8 | Practice 7 | Practice 6 | Practice 5 | Practice 4 | Practice 3 | Practice 2 | Practice 1 

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.