It’s go time in Green Bay

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws a pass in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis.

Bring on the Bears.

The Green Bay Packers wrapped up their preseason with a 19-15 win over Seattle on Saturday afternoon. It was Green Bay’s first noon preseason game since 1995.

Third string quarterback Alex McGough engineered a game-winning drive in the final minutes and Benny Sapp clinched the victory with an interception in the final seconds. Aside from that, the contest was about as exciting as sitting in traffic or junk mail.

Green Bay finished the preseason 2-1 and outscored its foes, 72-55.

The Packers will now turn their attention to Chicago, their Week 1 opponent. Green Bay has won eight in a row against its longest rival and 23 of the last 26.

“We’re ready. I’m confident in our team,” Packers running back Aaron Jones said. “We put together a good camp and a really good preseason. We know we have a lot of things we can work on, but we’re confident in each other that we can come out and out some nice wins together and shock a lot of people.”

Of course, the Packers’ recent dominance of the Bears came with Aaron Rodgers under center. And when they head to Chicago in 15 days, they’ll do so with Jordan Love as their preferred starting quarterback.

In Dec., 2021, Rodgers scored a game-clinching touchdown at Chicago’s Soldier Field, raced to the right corner of the endzone and hollered, “I’ve owned you all my (bleeping) life! I own you! I still own you!”

Rodgers went a remarkable 25-5 against Chicago, a ridiculous .833 winning percentage. Brett Favre was a terrific 22-10 (.688) against Chicago.

Now, all eyes will be on Love to see if he can continue the Packers’ three-decade dominance of the NFL’s oldest rivalry.

“He just handled everything really well,” Packers inside linebacker Quay Walker said of Love. “He goes and prepares well. Just sitting back and watching, I think everything’s going to play out like it’s supposed to. I think he’s the perfect person to fill in this quarterback role after Aaron. I think he’s going to do real well. I believe in him.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from Green Bay’s win over Seattle.

THE GOOD

WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: Jordan Love, the Packers’ first-year starting quarterback, had another solid day. Love led the Packers to 10 points on three drives, going 9-of-15 for 63 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Granted, the Packers played their starters for three series, while the Seahawks were playing their reserves. But Love couldn't control what Seattle coach Pete Carroll did. Instead, he simply did his job as he has all summer — and did it well.

“Great camp,” Packers defensive end Kenny Clark said. “Constantly improved. Great leader. Like I said, I’ve got the utmost confidence in him and I’m going to always be behind him. I’m excited to see how this team moves forward and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year. I’m excited.”

Love finished the preseason 21-of-33 for 193 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 109.8.

“He played us all last year, so we all knew he was good,” Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “We all seen it. It’s just now it’s his time. It’s on him and it’s going to be natural for him. He’s got a great group of guys behind him. He knows that we’re all with him, the coaches are with him, everybody’s with him.”

GETTING HIS KICKS: Rookie kicker Anders Carlson wasn’t in danger of missing the 53-man roster. The Packers invested a sixth round draft pick on Carlson in April, and despite an up-and-down summer, they love his potential.

Just in case there was a modicum of doubt, though, the rookie kicked away those thoughts. Carlson made both of his field goals, including a 57-yarder that would have been the second- longest in team history had this been a regular season game. Mason Crosby holds the record with a 58yarder in 2011 at Minnesota.

Carlson had an extra point blocked, but that wasn’t his fault. Tucker Kraft whiffed on his block, allowing Michael Jackson to race off the edge and get Carlson’s kick.

“It was awesome,” Carlson said of the lengthy field goal. “It was a good operation. These are the opportunities you kind of dream of. Just going out there in the preseason, the way I like to, so great opportunity. Front line did really good. Pat (O’Donnell), great hold. I put it through. Did my job.”

ALEX MCGOUGH: McGough, who led Birmingham to the USFL Championship before signing with Green Bay on July 18, is unlikely to make the final cut. If these were McGough’s last moments in Green Bay, though, they were impressive ones.

McGough led a 75-yard touchdown drive in the game’s final minutes to power the Packers to the win. McGough hit Jadakis Bonds for 52 yards on the march, setting up a 1-yard, game-winning touchdown run by Nate McCrary.

“It’s unbelievable,” McGough said. “Whenever you can win a game, whatever level you’re at, it’s an accomplishment that you just can’t replicate feelings like that.

“It was awesome to get the opportunity to go in and better opportunity to go out and prove that, with the circumstances – we’re down in the game, we’ve got to score a touchdown to get ahead – that we went down there and executed. All 11 guys did what they had to do to put it in the end zone.”

THIS AND THAT: Undrafted rookie free agent Malik Heath seems a good bet to not only make the 53man roster, but be Green Bay’s No. 4 receiver. Heath had a team-high four catches for 35 yards. “I think I put some great film out there, blocking, pass-catching, tough catches,” Heath said. “I think I did good. I think I did my job.” … The Packers didn’t allow a sack. … Green Bay had 164 rushing yards on a whopping 45 carries (3.6 average). … No. 3 inside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie was extremely active in two quarters of work, finishing with a team-high five tackles. … Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine jumped a route that would have been a pick-six if he had been able to hold onto the ball. “I’m going to watch it on tape and then you know, you’ve just got to make the next one,” Valentine said.

THE BAD

TUCKER KRAFT: The Packers’ rookie tight end has been quiet in practice in recent days, and had a rough outing against the Seahawks.

Kraft, Green Bay’s third round draft pick, had a false start on the Packers’ opening possession. Later, Kraft missed his block which allowed Seattle’s Michael Jackson to block a Carlson extra point.

NEAR MISS: Love has struggled with his deep ball accuracy at times this summer, and Saturday was no different.

Love had Christian Watson open for what would have been a 49-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Love’s ball hung in the air too long, then Watson didn’t help his quarterback by dropping the ball when it came down at the 10-yard line.

“It was just a ball I underthrew,” Love said. “As it left my hand, I thought it was good. But the more it was getting out there, I saw him, once he turned his shoulders to come back to it, I was like, ‘Aw, man.’ So that was definitely one I wish I could have back. Whether the wind negated it or what, it’s just something you’ve got to be able to work through. But got to hit those ones.”

WAIT AND SEE: Inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury. When asked about his availability for Green Bay’s Week 1 game at Chicago, Campbell didn't sound overly optimistic.

“We’ll see,” Campbell said. “I’ve got two weeks left, so we’ll see.”

Campbell finished third on the team in tackles last year with 96.

THIS AND THAT: Elijah Hamilton allowed a 33-yard reception by Easop Winston Jr. … The Packers averaged just 4.3 yards per punt return. … Tariq Carpenter missed a tackle in the hole, which led to an 11-yard run by SaRodorick Thompson Jr. THE UGLY PUNT-A-THON: There’s a reason preseason ticket prices cost about 50% of what fans pay for regular season games.

The football is often ugly and is played by several guys that won't be on NFL rosters by next week.

That was certainly the case Saturday, as Green Bay and Seattle had a stretch in the second half in which there were seven consecutive series that ended in punts. The teams combined for just two first downs and 43 total yards in that time.

The majority of the 72,105 fans didn't go anywhere. But those paying customers also didn’t have a lot to cheer about.