DENVER – Damarious Randall will always be able to say he got his first NFL interception against a Hall of Famer.
On an otherwise rough night for the Packers defense, and for Randall at times, the rookie cornerback did manage to intercept Broncos QB Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter.
It wasn't much consolation in the 29-10 loss on Sunday night in Denver, but it's a memory he'll always have.
"It was a nice pick. I should have had another one earlier in the second half," Randall said.
The Green Bay Packers faced off against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday night. Photos by Jim Biever, Packers.com.
Battling an ankle injury during the week and with safety Morgan Burnett returning to the secondary, Randall wasn't sure how much he'd play on Sunday. But when Sam Shields left the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, Randall was out there the rest of the night.
"It was very tough," Randall said. "Sam is our starting right corner, and when you're missing a guy like that, it's going to be different in the secondary."
The Packers also lost rookie corner Quinten Rollins to a shoulder injury.
Back in the end zone: Packers running back Eddie Lacy's 2-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter was his first rushing TD since Week 1. He had his longest run of the night, a 15-yarder, just a few snaps before he scored.
It was tough sledding otherwise, though, as Lacy finished with just 38 yards on 11 carries. An 11-yard run on his second attempt of the night turned out not to be a sign of more to come.
"They were good. They get to the ball fast," Lacy said. "We knew they were a great defense coming into it. Sometimes that's the way the dice roll."
Lacy said his bum ankle definitely felt better than it had before the bye week, but the offensive performance as a whole for the Packers wasn't about their health.
"I don't think we executed to our standards," Lacy said. "That's a big part of it, and we have to learn from it."
Another long one: Kicker Mason Crosby's 56-yard field goal in the third quarter was the sixth field goal of Crosby's career of 56 yards or longer. He now has the seven longest field goals in franchise history, ranging from 54 to 58 yards.
Crosby's kick on Sunday night pulled the Packers to within 17-10 as they tried to climb back from an early 17-0 deficit, but that was the last offensive highlight.
"It seemed like momentum was going our way, but Denver did a great job taking it back and keeping the gas down," said Crosby, adding that he's confident the Packers can bounce back.
"We've put a lot of preparation into this season, so it's never an overhaul. It's never something where it's huge, glaring things. We'll just focus on the fundamentals and the details and correct the things we can correct from this game."
Injury update: In addition to the shoulder injuries to Shields and Rollins, linebacker Clay Matthews left the game temporarily with an ankle injury, but he did return.
Matthews wasn't moving at full speed after the injury, and he wasn't able to say how much it might affect him leading up to the next game.
"Based on the sideline examination, thankfully it wasn't anything too serious," he said. "Hopefully it feels pretty good tomorrow, but it's hurting pretty good right now."
As are the Packers, but the anticipation was for a very focused team in the days ahead.
"It's going to be a rough week of work getting back at it, but we need to look in the mirror and assess where we're at," Matthews said.
