Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Take it away, take it away now: All summer, Mike Pettine has preached to his defense the importance of generating more turnovers in 2019.
Based on the preseason, the unit appears to be off to a decent start.
The Packers’ defense generated two more takeaways for its coordinator Thursday night, with the first coming in the form of a 74-yard Ty Summers interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. It started thanks to a quarterback pressure from outside linebacker Markus Jones.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no way. Those don't come that easy very often,’” Summers said. “‘Gotta catch that one.’”
Twenty-four game seconds later, Jones recovered a Kyle Shurmur fumble at the Kansas City 29-yard line, which led to backup QB Tim Boyle finding tight end Jace Sternberger for a 3-yard touchdown to give Green Bay a 13-3 lead.
Jones, a prolific pass rusher at Division II Angelo State, was one of only three outside linebackers the Packers suited up against Kansas City. He finished with three tackles, two deflections, a quarterback hit and the fumble recovery.
“It meant the world, especially coming from a Division II (school), to where I am now is a blessing,” said Jones of the opportunity. “I thank God for everything that happened up until now and all the support from everyone. It’s surreal.”
Final kick: The Packers took their kicking competition between veteran Mason Crosby and Sam Ficken all the way down to the preseason finale.
Crosby missed an early extra point but made his second before halftime to finish the preseason 7-of-8, including a 43-yard field goal against Baltimore. Ficken stayed a perfect 6-of-6 in the preseason with two made extra points against the Chiefs.
“I think at the end of the day, there’s lots of teams out there looking for good quality kickers,” Ficken said. “I feel like I’m one of them. Hopefully I’m here, but that’s not in my control. I did what I could and we’ll see what pans out.”