Packers wide receiver Will Sheppard runs around the end during an NFL preseason game on Saturday in Green Bay, Wis. (AP photo)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers gave Seattle Seahawks rookie Jalen Milroe some hard lessons about life in the NFL.

Milroe played the Seahawks’ entire preseason finale Saturday as coach Mike Macdonald rested starting quarterback Sam Darnold and his backup Drew Lock. Milroe, a third-round pick from Alabama, lost three fumbles and was sacked five times in the Packers’ 20-7 victory.

“He’s playing his tail off,” Macdonald said. “There’s things we’re going to learn from. Taking care of the football is probably the No. 1 thing. He knows that. We learn from it and go from there. I think it was definitely worth it to get him out there. Having this experience, he’s definitely going to be able to build off this in the future.”

Milroe went 13 of 24 for 148 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Cody White. He rushed for 31 yards on seven carries.

He was asked afterward what he learned from the experience.

“No matter good, bad or ugly, keep going,” Milroe said. “Keep fighting. Keep being starving. Have an optimistic mindset as you approach the field, despite anything. Good, bad … you’ve got to be the same person each and every day.”

While the Seahawks kept their starters on the sidelines, the Packers played many of their regulars for much of the first quarter as they built a 10-0 lead. One Green Bay starter who didn’t play was quarterback Jordan Love, who practiced on a limited basis this week as he recovers from surgery on his left (non-throwing) thumb.

“Hindsight’s always 20-20, but I just thought in my gut I feel like a lot of years we’ve come out of the preseason saying, ‘Hey, I wish we would’ve given these guys a few more reps,'” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “And we were able to do that for most of our guys today.”

Malik Willis, who won each of the two games he started in place of an injured Love last season, quarterbacked the first two series for the Packers. After throwing a deep pass into coverage that Ty Okada intercepted on the game’s first series, Willis bounced back to lead a 14-play, 96-yard drive.

Willis’ 1-yard TD pass to Romeo Doubs capped a drive that included a 39-yard completion to rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden. Willis also ran around right end for a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 42.

Milroe got off to a rough start, losing two fumbles in Seattle’s first three series.

Brenton Cox’s strip-sack created the first fumble, which Kingsley Enagbare recovered at the Seattle 30. On Seattle’s next series, Milroe crossed the first-down marker on fourth-and-1 before Ty’Ron Hopper forced a fumble that Kalen King recovered near midfield.

Hopper, a 2024 third-round pick, has had an impressive preseason.

“I would say he’s one of our most improved players, I think, from a year ago,” LaFleur said.

Up next

The Seahawks host San Francisco and the Packers host Detroit on Sept. 7 in their regular-season openers.

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