As far as the players who’ll have the greatest impact on how the Green Bay Packers fare this season, there was virtually nothing to be gleaned from the team’s 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

Other than the fact that quarterback Jordan Love, running back Josh Jacobs and the other top-tier players who didn’t suit up are pretty good cheerleaders.

“I was really proud of our veterans that did not play in terms of their ability to stay locked in. They’re coaching the guys up, they’re encouraging them,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after his team held on to notch its first preseason win after a 20-point loss to the New York Jets a week earlier.

“I told them at halftime, ‘It’s hard to bring that energy when you’re not making plays, but you’ve got to bring some level of encouragement for the guys that are out there.’ And I thought they were dialed in for four quarters and did a nice job with that.”

Whether they’ll do a nice enough job with their actual play on Sept. 7 when they kick off the regular season against the defending NFC North division champion Detroit Lions, we’ll have to wait and see — and many of them will have to get fully healthy.

Among the 29 players who didn’t suit up — not including first-round draft pick Matthew Golden, as the rookie wideout dressed but did not play — were Love, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) thumb, as well as left tackle Rasheed Walker (groin) and wide receivers Jayden Reed (foot), Dontayvion Wicks (calf), Romeo Doubs (back), Christian Watson (knee, still on the PUP list) and rookie Savion Williams (hamstring).

Jacobs was one of several healthy scratches on offense, along with tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave and starting offensive linemen Elgton Jenkins, Aaron Banks and Zach Tom.

On defense, safety Xavier McKinney (calf) and cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) are still aiming to return from their injuries for the opener, while the healthy scratches included defensive ends Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, defensive tackles Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt, linebackers Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Edgerrin Cooper, cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, and safeties Evan Williams and Javon Bullard.

Nevertheless, LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst did get a full game’s worth of tape to evaluate players battling for roster spots with the Aug. 26 roster cutdown date fast approaching, and LaFleur also got to see that his young guys can respond to adversity (some of it self-inflicted) and halftime tongue-lashings like the one they got for committing an astronomical 11 penalties for 85 yards in the first half.

“I was really proud, really excited just watching how our team responded and competed. I thought the first half was extremely sloppy from an offensive standpoint,” said LaFleur, who chewed out rookie second-round pick Anthony Belton on the way to the locker room after the tackle was responsible for five of the first-half flags.

“We did a much better job in the second half. Guys dialed in and focused.”

The Packers took the longest look at Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma. No. 2 QB Malik Willis started in place of Love, but Elgersma took over during the second quarter and played well into the fourth quarter, completing 7 of 11 passes for 109 yards (96.4 passer rating) after having a couple of big throws negated by penalties.

Elgersma directed two touchdown drives, with one ending in a 3-yard Israel Abanikanda 3-yard touchdown run and the other in a 9-yard Amar Johnson TD run.

“I thought there were a lot of good things that he did. Obviously [he] led us on a couple of scoring drives,” LaFleur said of Elgersma, whom the Packers signed after a tryout at the post-draft rookie minicamp — despite his lack of American football experience.

“I do think there were a couple times where he put the ball in jeopardy in some tough situations, and we got bailed out by a penalty on the defense. So I think there’s a lot to like, but also a lot to learn from.”

Sean Clifford, a 2023 fifth-round pick who served as Love’s primary backup as a rookie and was the No. 3 quarterback last season on the practice squad behind Love and Willis, then came in with 6 minutes, 33 seconds left to play and wound up scoring the game-winning touchdown — an 11-yard run with 1:31 to play.

“It’s fun to have a two-minute drill,” said Clifford, whose touchdown capped a 13-play, 65-yard, drive that consumed more than 5 minutes of clock. “I think that’s always been one of my M.O.s, to come out strong and be able to close games.

“I believe I’m a winner and when I’m given the opportunity, I’ll take the most of it. It was fun to able to go out there and win the game with the boys.”

Clifford’s score didn’t quite win the game, however. Colts No. 4 quarterback Jason Bean quickly moved his team into scoring range and, on fourth-and-10 from the Packers’ 31-yard line with 13 seconds to play, nearly won the game for the home team.

Bean made an unbelievable throw to tight end Jelani Woods at the front right pylon of the end zone. While Woods made the catch, he was initially ruled out of bounds at the 1-yard line, then replay overturned the call and ruled the pass was incomplete — even though it looked like it perhaps should have been a touchdown.

Whether it should have been ruled a catch or not, or a touchdown or not, only referee Alex Moore and his crew can say for sure. (Or maybe they can’t.)

But one thing was clear: Undrafted rookie free agent cornerback Tyron Herring’s hit allowed the Packers to escape with the victory.

“All my thought was, ‘Just make the tackle,’” Herring said. “It’s always good to win. Preseason or regular season, it’s good to be in the habit of winning. [I’m] just glad we were able to pull it off.”

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