Quarterback Jordan Love and edge rusher Micah Parsons were excellent, and wide receiver Christian Watson and Evan Williams made big plays as the Green Bay Packers were able to come from behind and eventually outlast the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Love played through a shoulder injury and was pinpoint accurate. Parsons was his usual disruptive self as a rusher. Watson and Williams made the game-winning plays late.
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ Week 11 win over the Giants:
Top 5 offense
- QB Jordan Love: 93.1
- LG Aaron Banks: 83.4
- WR Christian Watson: 82.1
- RT Zach Tom: 72.4
- WR Matthew Golden: 70.0
Love was elite. He dominated from clean pockets, was excellent throwing the ball downfield and only had meager box score numbers because of the recurring drops. Banks played his best game of the season, earning an 82.1 run block grade and allowing just two pressures over 33 pass-blocking snaps. Watson caught three contested passes, including both touchdowns, and likely would have earned an elite grade had he come down with the fourth contested catch on a deep throw from Love in the second half. Tom gave up just a single hurry in pass protection. Golden caught only one pass for 24 yards, but he also drew a key pass interference penalty on a touchdown drive. Savion Williams played only two snaps but earned a 94.5 grade. Malik Willis (77.5, seven snaps), Darian Kinnard (75.7, nine snaps) and Chris Brooks (75.2, five snaps) were excellent in supporting roles.
Top 5 defense
- DE Micah Parsons: 89.6
- CB Keisean Nixon: 84.5
- S Xavier McKinney: 74.1
- CB Javon Bullard: 72.5
- CB Carrington Calentine: 71.2
Parsons produced a team-high six pressures: two sacks, two hits, two hurries. He also led the defense in run tackles (4) and run stops (3). Nixon led the team in run defense grade (75.7) and coverage grade (83.7) — he broke up two passes and forced two incompletions. McKinney broke up a pass and was a perfect 5-for-5 as a tackler. Bullard gave up just one catch and had a pass breakup in coverage. Valentine dropped two interceptions, but he allowed just one catch for eight yards.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Luke Musgrave: 28.4
- TE John FitzPatrick: 54.3
- C Sean Rhyan: 55.6
- LT Rasheed Walker: 56.3
- WR Dontayvion Wicks: 56.7
Musgrave caught one pass for -1 yard, had a drop and a fumble, and he was fortunate not to have a second fumble. He barely played in the second half as a result. FitzPatrick failed to make a catch and was poor in the run game. Rhyan had a few poor snaps and gave up a quarterback hit (16.6 pass block grade) but was effective in the run game. Walker gave up two pressures, including a quarterback hit. Wicks dropped a pass and had only one catch for nine yards on 17 routes run.
Bottom 5 defense
- DL Devonte Wyatt: 32.9
- LB Isaiah McDuffie: 47.7
- DE Kingsley Enagbare: 51.8
- DL Colby Wooden: 52.3
- LB Quay Walker: 56.8
Wyatt earned a team-worst 36.0 run defense grade, and he didn’t have a pressure over 16 pass-rushing snaps. McDuffie was average against the run, excellent as a tackler but struggled in coverage, and he was flagged for pass interference near the goal line, eventually resulting in a touchdown. Enagbare played 40 snaps but missed a tackle and didn’t have a pressure as a rusher. Wooden missed two tackles and wasn’t good against the run. Walker had three stops, but he struggled against the run and allowed two catches in coverage.
Special teams
Cornerback Kamal Hadden earned an elite 91.6 special teams grade while operating as a blocker on kickoff return (four snaps) and punt return (two snaps). Long snapper Matt Orzech made two tackles covering punts, while Arron Mosby made two tackles covering kickoffs. Kingsley Enagbare was penalized on a punt return. Lucas Havrisik missed two extra points, while Daniel Whelan averaged 44.5 net yards per punt, had two punts of at least 60 yards and two punts inside the 20-yard line.
Quarterback play
Jordan Love 93.1
Here is where PFF grades can become valuable for showing context. Love completed 13 of 24 passes for 174 yards on Sunday, but the box score did not do the performance justice. Per PFF, Love finished with three big-time throws, zero turnover worthy plays and had an adjusted completion percentage of 85.0, thanks for four credited drops. Love also had a batted throw, two throws where he was hit while throwing and a throwaway, accounting for eight of his nine completions. Love was nearly perfect from clean pockets, completed 3-for-5 passes over 20 yards (one dropped) and was aggressive throwing downfield. He likely lost at least 100 yards on drops.
Stat to know
The Packers offense dropped four passes (a conversative number, to be fair) but also had four contested catches, including three from Christian Watson and one huge play from Savion Williams. Jordan Love consistently gave his pass-catchers a chance to make plays down the field, and eventually it paid off in a big way. Williams made a 33-yard catch in traffic on 3rd-and-10, and Watson made a spinning catch between two defenders on a 17-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
Another stat to know
The Packers cornerbacks — Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and Javon Bullard — allowed only six catches on 12 targets for 59 yards (4.9 yards per target) while forcing five different incompletions. The trio failed on four terrific interception opportunities, and Nixon gave up three catches for first downs in the second half, but the cornerbacks played well overall in a plus matchup against an undermanned passing offense lacking threats at receiver. The real test comes next week against Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers PFF grades: Best, worst players from win over Giants in Week 11
