Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton have opposite games as Packers beat Colts
It was another ugly game for the Packers marred by penalties, including and especially from their rookie second-round pick, but his bookend tackle shined.
Good Sunday morning!
On Saturday, the Green Bay Packers came back to beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-19 in thrilling fashion. The team rested its starters, giving their backups a good test against the Indy ones, which was about as lopsided as one would predict.
Today's edition of The Leap looks at what we learned from that mostly one-sided first-half battle, Anthony Belton’s nightmarish first half, and more lessons from the second preseason gamein Indy.
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What is the takeaway from Anthony Belton’s nightmarish five-penalty first half against the Colts?
Peter Bukowski: He’s a rookie. He had more bad pass protection reps against the Colts than the Jets (which is to say he had some, because he was pretty flawless there in the opener), but when he’s asked to block, he can block.
False starts happen, especially on the road, and doubly especially to rookies. On the play where he was called for a facemask penalty, the defender could just as easily have been called for illegal hands to the face. And the personal foul was right past the line from aggressive to reckless, but that’s Belton’s playstyle. He’s a motherf*cker. He wants to bury you every play.
It’s why Green Bay drafted him.
“I love the effort, it’s just that you have to be smart in those situations,” Matt LaFleur said post-game.
Back-to-back alignment penalties will drive coaches crazy, but they were also ticky-tack, part of the emphasis the NFL is placing on tackles who get a head start by aligning too far into the backfield. After getting called for it once, though, you have to move up a little.
“It’s just underperforming,” Belton said after the game.
“Getting penalties like that, that’s not the standard that I hold myself to. You’ve just got to bounce back from it.”
Still, watch him dislodge a defender and take him for a ride four yards down the field, then finish the play with the decisive push on this second-half touchdown run.
Belton’s raw power and feet make him a tantalizing prospect. Progression is rarely linear, so seeing some mistakes comes as no surprise. He’s not pushing to start this season anyway, so the Packers can afford to let him work through these understandable moments, knowing if they do need him in a game, he has the ability to give them good reps (and some head-scratching moments).
The Colts opened with their starters. Was there anything worth gleaning from the matchup with Green Bay’s backups?
PB: This is cheating, but the most crucial takeaway was Jordan Morgan looks like an NFL left tackle, a stark difference from what we saw on Family Night. And at this point, I’m willing to chalk that gap up to the obvious development of Lukas Van Ness, who carried over an impressive training camp with some eye-popping reps in joint practice this week.
Morgan was the opposite of Belton. He was never stressed, never rushed, never forced it, and always in control. He looked every bit the first-round pick against his old Pac-12 nemesis Laiatu Latu.
Also, I thought Malik Willis showed once again why he’s one of the best backups in the NFL. Josh Jacobs said earlier this week he believed Willis is good enough to start, and playing with twos and threes, Willis moved the ball well against Lou Anarumo’s new-look Colts defense.
Had it not been for a slew of Belton penalties and a missed field goal, the Packers would have had more to show for Willis’ time on the field.
How much damage did Isaiah Simmons do to his shot at a roster spot?
PB: Isaiah Simmons came to the NFL as the ultimate theoretical player, and he’s carried that over to the Packers, shining in practice and struggling in games. He led the team in tackles against the Colts, but often looked out of position or unsure even where to be.
The problem now is the same as the one coming out of Clemson: what does he do consistently to help you win? He shows flashes, tantalizing flashes, like the interception of Daniel Jones in joint practices. But once the game starts, if he’s not making splash plays, he’s not impacting the game.
On a day the starters didn’t play, Isaiah McDuffie got to rest while Simmons played well into the third quarter, an ominous harbinger for the veteran Simmons.
Ty’Ron Hopper and Kristian Welch have each performed better in the preseason games. While Rich Bisaccia wouldn’t get to have his fun and use Simmons as a 230-pound punt gunner, it’s worth wondering if Simmons even makes this team.
Simmons had been running with the starters when they’re in base defense, but McDuffie not playing suggests he’s still the “third” linebacker on the team. If Hopper and Welch can offer the same or better actual linebacker play than Simmons, then the special teams value would have to be off the charts for him to have a place on the roster.
And we haven’t seen any evidence of that. Let Bo Melton do it. They let him do everything else.
The running back room looks absolutely loaded and only getting deeper from last year. How will this one shake out?
PB: This day started as the triumphant return of MarShawn Lloyd, but with a slew of backup offensive linemen, the Packers gave him no push up front and little room to operate. The beautiful wheel route completion from Malik Willis ended Lloyd’s day, and he took a shot to the head as he went to the ground (that could have been called an illegal shot). Reporting after the game suggests the injury is his hamstring, not related to the headshot, but in some ways, that’s even more troubling.
His explosive ability teases while his body fails him. He can’t help the Packers if he can’t stay on the field.
But as Jason pointed out during the game, every Packers back who got a touch in this game at least has a case to make the practice squad.
Emanuel Wilson remains the second-best (and maybe the best) pure runner on this team. His open-field speed looks to be back, and he truck-sticked a Colts defender along the sideline on an explosive play he created off a swing pass. He averaged over six yards per carry, but this room is so deep, he looks like a man without a true home.
If Lloyd is healthy, he and Jacobs will take the early-down rushes, and Chris Brooks is the most trusted third-down back on the team. He’s an even better pass-protector than Jacobs, even if he’s by far the least explosive running back on the team.
Even if Brian Gutekunst keeps four guys, that’s leaving off Israel Abanikanda, who led the team in carries, scored a touchdown as a runner, returned kicks, and played on kick coverage Saturday night. Could he be pushing to be one of the four running backs that make the final 53?
And apparently, all Amar Johnson does is score touchdowns. He’s 2/2 in the preseason, looks explosive, and shows a combination of patience and power. The South Dakota State is the ideal practice squad stash that could have a chance to make this team in 2026.
This is a loaded group, the kind that led to a player like Tyler Goodson winding up on the Colts and immediately contributing.