That mattered because backup football is chaotic by nature, and Friday's 7:00 PM CT kickoff at Lambeau delivered exactly that kind of game — 80 combined points, a final score of 42-38, and a whole lot of players trying to save their jobs in real time.
Arizona came in having split its first four preseason tests, a 27-14 win over the Raiders sandwiched between losses to Carolina and a lopsided one to Dallas. Green Bay had the more recent form going for it, a 33-13 pasting of Denver in its last look, but neither team's flashes translated into anything resembling a defensive performance here.
The injury sheets tell you why both offenses looked disjointed even while scoring at will. Arizona is still figuring out its backfield — James Conner hadn't taken an 11-on-11 rep in camp before this game, Jeremiyah Love was managing an ankle, and Trey Benson landed back on injured reserve days before kickoff. Green Bay's own backfield picture got murkier this week too, with Josh Jacobs carrying a questionable tag for a groin issue and an off-field legal matter hanging over him. Neither team fielded anything close to its ideal starting cast.
None of that stopped either side from moving the ball. Green Bay finished on the winning end at 42, Arizona put up 38 of its own, and a game meant to be a formality turned into the kind of track meet that makes final roster cuts look a little more interesting than usual for the fringe players who made plays with the lights on.
Both clubs now turn to Sunday's roster deadline with better information than they had a week ago — Arizona still needs clarity behind Brissett, and Green Bay still needs Jacobs and Tucker Kraft healthy for a Week 1 date with real stakes. This one won't move either team's season, but it gave both coaching staffs plenty of preseason tape to argue about all weekend.