The Green Bay Packers pulled off a convincing 38-20 win over the Chicago Bears to start the 2023 NFL regular season. Of course, all eyes were on Jordan Love in his first start since taking over the starting quarterback job from future Hall of Famer and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. Love, of course, did not disappoint, throwing for 245 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Despite throwing more touchdowns and having a higher passer rating than, literally, any other NFL quarterback (so far; the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets play on Monday night), Love did not get one of the Packers’ top-five highest grades on offense. The players who did, though, may not come as a surprise.
The Green Bay Packers’ 5 Highest PFF Grades on Offense
As a whole, the Packers had the fifth-highest graded offense by PFF in the NFL during Week One (so far). Their 75.4 overall grade came in behind the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons (who the Packers play in Week Two).
The players that contributed the most to this high overall grade were:
- Zach Tom- 84.8
- Romeo Doubs- 78.4
- David Bakhtiari- 78.3
- Aaron Jones- 71.3
- Samori Toure- 66.9
Technically, Royce Newman had a higher PFF grade than Toure (70.2), but he only played five snaps all game.
As Packers legend Gilbert Brown notes in the podcast above, the reason the Packers won was because they dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides. Both Bakhtiari and Tom, playing left tackle and right tackle respectively, did not give up a single pressure all day.
Love was able to put up the numbers he did because his offensive line, for the most part, kept him clean. Of course, Doubs and Jones, the recipients of Love’s three touchdown passes, played a big role as well.
Toure only had two receptions for 18 yards, but was an invaluable part of the Packers run game with his blocking down field.
The Green Bay Packers’ Lowest 5 PFF Grades on Offense
Despite the large margin of victory, it was not a perfect game. Additionally, there were some performances that were downright concerning. PFF did not have good evaluations for the following players:
- Josh Myers- 44.0
- Josiah Deguara- 47.3
- Dontayvion Wicks- 47.7
- Tucker Kraft- 53.2
- AJ Dillon- 55.0
Technically speaking, quarterback Sean Clifford had the lowest PFF grade on offense with a 37.5. However, he only played five snaps. Similarly, tight end Ben Sims had a 54.4 PFF grade, but only played nine snaps.
As good as the rest of the offensive line was, Myers was the obvious weakest link. He was particularly bad in the run blocking game, which also affected AJ Dillon’s game. When it came to blocking for the running backs, Myers had a grade of 40.0.
In fact, run blocking was the weakest part of the games of all the players listed above, except Dillon who had a 39.1 receiving grade.
In terms of Kraft, it is very interesting that he performed so poorly, especially in blocking. After the draft, many said he was going to be a better blocker than Luke Musgrave. However, Musgrave had a pass blocking grade of 70.9 and a run blocking grade of 67.3. By comparison, Kraft had a 70.2 pass blocking grade and a 54.9 run blocking grade.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!