(AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
CB Eric Stokes: The rookie went 10 rounds with 2019 first-round pick Marquise Brown and scored a unanimous decision. Brown caught a half dozen passes against Stokes’ coverage but gained fewer than 30 receiving yards and didn’t have a catch over seven yards. In a battle of speedsters, Stokes limited big-play opportunities and tackled like a veteran in the open field. On one play, Brown attempted to put an inside-out move on the rookie, but Stokes stayed in his hip pocket and knocked the pass away. Double moves didn’t fool him. Several times, Tyler Huntley got the ball to Brown quick, hoping he’d make a play after the catch, but Stokes was there to make a sure tackle. On the game’s final defensive play, he stood his ground against tight end Mark Andrews and was in a solid position to break up the pass. The Packers’ first-round pick rarely looks like a rookie.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: The Ravens double-teamed Davante Adams relentlessly, and they weren’t shy about showing their hand pre-snap. This plan created opportunities for Valdes-Scantling, and he took advantage. Targeted seven times, he caught five for 98 yards and a score. Three of the catches gained 20 or more yards. Twice, he won from the slot and created a big play. He made two impressive contested catches, including one on a rocket ball from Aaron Rodgers up the seam against tight man-to-man coverage to open the two-minute drill. Later, he won in the red zone, made an aggressive hands catch in traffic and stretched into the end zone, all in one, smooth motion. If teams are going to go gung-ho doubling Adams, players like Valdes-Scantling must step up and make plays. Mission accomplished on Sunday.
QB Aaron Rodgers: He’ll want his first throw to Davante Adams and his final throw to Allen Lazard back, but just about everything else from the performance was MVP-quality again. More and more, Rodgers looks in complete control, both during the pre-snap phase and within the pocket post-snap. He’s making quick, decisive decisions and distributing the ball all over the field. Eight different players caught passes on Sunday. The Ravens blitzed him only twice, probably because he felt the first blitz coming and delivered a strike to Tyler Davis for a 22-yard gain. He made magic on a throw to Valdes-Scantling late in the first half, firing the ball into an impossible window and turning a well-covered play into an explosive gain. It was the definition of throwing a receiver open. Rodgers thinks he’s playing better than he did in 2020, which is incredible considering the numbers he put up last season. But it’s getting harder and harder to argue the point.
