Throughout the Packers’ 101 year history, the team has played in many tough environments, but a Thursday night game in Canada on a field that was missing 20 yards was surely one they had not faced before. 

The Green Bay Packers fell to the Oakland Raiders 22-21 in their third preseason game, where 33 players, including quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver Davante Adams, running back Aaron Jones, and cornerback Kevin King to name a few, were scrubbed from the start. Many Packers’ starters were expected to get some reps in this game, but due to the poor field conditions were kept off for what was most likely a precautionary measure. 

All 33 #Packers not playing tonight in Winnipeg: pic.twitter.com/CzDvvZL2Xk

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 22, 2019

The turf field, which was “reportedly” inspected and approved by the NFL just yesterday, appeared to be ripped up in a few areas in each end zone. Since the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) goalposts are actually placed in the endzone, the patches that went on top to cover these holes after removing them and pushing them back to the NFL’s standards, appeared to be loose and moving. This raised concerns for many reasons, resulting in the game being played on an 80 yard field, with no kickoffs, where each team got the ball at the 25 yard line, AAF style. 

Quarterback Tim Boyle got the start Thursday for the Packers and started off very slow, but as the night went on seemed to get into a better rhythm. He finished the night 16/25 for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns before being replaced by DeShone Kizer according to ESPN stats. 

In what was maybe one of the strangest NFL games I have ever watched, there was however still some things we could takeaway. 

What we learned: Trevor Davis belongs on this roster 

He was one of the most talked about players this camp,and not for the best reasons, but wide receiver Trevor Davis had the preseason debut he needed to prove that he belongs on the Packers’ 53-man roster Thursday night. Davis, who has been a trusty return man for the Packers in the past, took a lot of heat during training camp about whether he should make the roster or not. Davis has had a tough time staying healthy as a returner and many fans debated on whether it was worth it to keep him on the roster because of it. 

He certainly silenced the haters Thursday, easily being the best guy on the Packers’ offense. He showed his value, outside of special teams, finishing with 5 receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown, according to ESPN stats. 

What went right: Sitting the starters 

As boring as preseason football can be without the Packers starters, it was absolutely the right decision to sit as many players as they did Thursday. There has been a lot of talk around whether Aaron Rodgers should make an appearance this preseason, but with the conditions being as poor as they were, keeping him out was the best call to make.

According to the Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, head coach Matt LaFleur originally planned to play all of the starters Thursday before they saw just how poor the conditions were.  

“We certainly have played on much worse surfaces in our life, but it was just one of those deals where they weren’t playing their starters, and so we just decided to sit them,” LaFleur shared at the post game press conference. 

What went wrong: Injuries 

With the field being as much of a mess as it was, players on both teams were slipping left and right, and by the end of it all, a total of five different Packers with final roster potential suffered some tough injuries.

Five players who had legit 53-man roster aspirations have now dropped out of this game:

Gary - EQ - Bolton - Redmond - Madison

— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) August 23, 2019

Equanimeous St. Brown (EQ) got the worst of it,being carted off after suffering a really brutal hit, where his ankle got caught underneath him and bent terribly. Regardless of what your opinion was on him making the final roster, you never want to see that happen to a player.

A lot of concern also surrounded the Packers’ first round draft pick in Rashan Gary who was also carted off, but his agency reported via Twitter that he is doing “well” with an unspecified injury. 

@RashanAGary is fine and doing well. Thank you to everyone for their prayers and concern.

— RG Sports (@RashanGarySport) August 23, 2019

Offensive MVPs: Trevor Davis and Darrius Shepherd

As I mentioned before, Davis certainly made a statement with his performance, but he was not the only wide receiver who had a nice night. For the third straight game, Darrius Shepherd looked impressive. The undrafted free agent finished the night with 3 receptions for 40 yards, according to ESPN stats.

With St. Brown going down with what looked like a pretty serious injury and Shepherd continuing to play well, there is a great chance that he could end up on the Packers’ final roster. 

Defensive MVP: Montravious Adams 

Defensive lineman Montravious Adams was all over the place in the best way Thursday night. It seemed like he was always two steps ahead of everyone else on the field and it was super fun to watch. He finished the night with 3 total tackles, but his performance was really much more than that. 

Just before training camp, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine had a lot of praise for Adams' imporvement this past offseason. 

“If I had to vote somebody or say who’s most improved from a year ago, it would be Montravius,” Pettine shared in an ESPN interview with Rob Demovsky. “There would be a couple other guys in the discussion. But it’s been pretty obvious with him.”

Up next, the Green Bay Packers wrap up their preseason campaign back home at Lambeau Field against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kickoff is set for 8 PM EST.