Packers Sit 33 Players, Fall to Raiders in Preseason on Shortened 80-Yard Field

The Oakland Raiders topped the Green Bay Packers 22-21 on a field goal with eight seconds left by Daniel Carlson in their Week 3 preseason matchup Thursday night at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 

However, the most notable action happened prior to kickoff. The playing field was shortened to 80 yards after a hole was discovered in one of the end zones. There were no kickoffs. Rather, each team began at the 25-yard line, and the 10-yard line served as the goal line. 

As a result, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur opted against playing any of his starters (h/t ESPN's Rob Demovsky) and sat 33 players overall. Similarly, the Raiders did not to use many starters because they felt "leery of the turf," according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

In fact, 24 players were left behind in Oakland, such as rookie No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell.

To start the game, questions about the field lingered when Packers quarterback Tim Boyle slipped on the third play from scrimmage. The 24-year-old second-year signal caller started the game for Green Bay, as Aaron Rodgers didn't even dress. 

Boyle notched the night's first touchdown with a 13-yard pass to Trevor Davis:

Davis, Green Bay's fifth-round pick in 2016, was the game's leading receiver with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Rookie undrafted receiver Darrius Shepherd also impressed, catching all three of his targets, including an over-the-shoulder 22-yarder:

Boyle's outing ended with 191 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-25 passing before DeShone Kizer entered.

Quarterback has been a storyline for the Raiders during this season of Hard Knocks, and Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman continued to compete for position behind starter Derek Carr.

Glennon started the game for Oakland and went 4-of-9 for 38 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions before Peterman took over for the rest of the way. Peterman produced the Raiders' two touchdowns with a five-yard toss to fullback Keith Smith, who had been recovering from a knee injury suffered in late July, and a seven-yarder to De'Mornay Pierson-El:

What was most encouraging for Raiders, though, was their three sacks (James Cowser, Nicholas Morrow, P.J. Hall). Oakland recorded a league-low 13 sacks in 2018.

While major injury due to the poor field conditions was avoided, Packers receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and rookie linebacker Rashan Gary were both carted off in the first half. St. Brown was speculated by Demovsky to have a left leg/knee injury, while Gary's agent tweeted the No. 12 overall pick "is fine" despite going down on two separate occasions.

What's Next? 

Green Bay's (1-2) preseason concludes on Thursday, Aug. 29, at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders (3-0) will travel to Seattle for their preseason finale, also on Aug. 29.