Packers finish exhibition season with defeat of Chiefs

The Green Bay Packers finished their exhibition season at 2-2 after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 24-3 Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

It was a break-out game for Graham Harrell after he struggled throughout the pre-season in his effort to win the No. 2 quarterback job behind Aaron Rodgers.

Harrell led the Packer offense to touchdowns on all three of his possessions. He completed 13 of 15 passes for 223 yards and a pair of scores.

Coach Mike McCarthy stopped short of declaring Harrell as Rodgers’ main backup. But he said the third-year pro grew throughout training camp and topped it off with an excellent performance.

Several starters did not dress, including Charles Woodson and Jeff Saturday, while others played sparingly on a night in which players on the bubble were given an extensive chance to make their case for a regular season roster spot.

Packers starting nose tackle B.J. Raji sprained an ankle on the first play of the game. McCarthy says it does not appear to be serious.

Alex Green, Jarrett Boykin impress

Running back Alex Green scored on a two-yard run and a 17-yard pass.

Jarrett Boykin caught Harrell’s other touchdown pass for 12 yards. He caught five passes on the night for 82 yards.

Marc Tyler led the Green Bay rushers with 12 carries for 21 yards.

Packers corner Sam Shields had the game’s only interception. Kansas City’s only scoring came late in the first quarter on a 26-yard Ryan Succop field goal.

The Chiefs rushed for 247 yards. Rookie Nate Eachus had 99 of those yards on 21 carries.

The Packers must cut their roster from 75 players to 53 by eight o’clock Friday night. Green Bay’s regular season begins a week from Sunday at home against San Francisco.

Badgers’ season begins Saturday

Montee Ball says he knows the spotlight will be on him tomorrow when the Wisconsin football team opens its season against Northern Iowa at Camp Randall Stadium.

Ball, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy a year ago, was assaulted by five men on Aug. 1 after he attended a party four days earlier in which a couple of his Badger teammates got into a brawl.

Ball was also ticketed in the spring for trespassing at a Madison house during the Mifflin Street Block Party.

The senior said he has dealt with a lot during the summer but, “When adversity strikes, you’ve got to respond.”

Ball tied Barry Sanders’ NCAA single season record with 39 touchdowns a year ago. He says a big day against Northern Iowa would help him move forward and get on with his life.

The Badgers are ranked 12th in the Bowl Championship Subdivision, while Northern Iowa is ranked seventh in a pre-season poll among FCS teams in the former Division 1AA.

Ball said Northern Iowa is a good team. He said the Badgers need to approach the Panthers the same way they would approach a game against Michigan State or Ohio State.

Saturday also marks the official Badger debuts of six new assistant coaches who came in after several assistants followed ex-Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst to Pittsburgh when he became the head coach there.

Tags: sports, football, wisconsin