By Matthew Davis
While Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels hung his head a little after a 27–18 loss, he matter-of-factly reflected what he saw in the 2–0 Green Bay Packers.
“They played better than us. There’s not really much to say,” Daniels told reporters on Thursday.
The Detroit Lions could have said the same thing after a 27–13 Week 1 loss to the Packers. Green Bay has won every major phase of the game in two outings for the young season against two NFC contenders.
“It feels good. Couldn’t have started the season off on a better note,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love told reporters on Thursday.
Love did his part against the Commanders (1–1), amid 19-31 passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns versus no interceptions. Overall, he had 480 yards passing and four touchdowns this year.
Playmakers stepped up again for Love as tight end Tucker Kraft shone with six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Romeo Doubs caught the first touchdown from Love on a 5-yard pass, and Doubs finished with three receptions for 28 yards.
Running back Josh Jacobs put the Packers up 14–0 in the first quarter on a 2-yard run. Jacobs rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Green Bay’s offense clicked without two starters on the offensive line—left guard Aaron Banks (ankle) and Zach Tom (oblique). Anthony Belton and Darian Kinnard filled in for Tom, and Jordan Morgan played Bank’s spot.
Love only took two sacks all night against the Commanders’ pass rush. In addition, Love went 9-15 for 175 yards and two touchdowns on plays where the Commanders blitzed, per Next Gen Stats.
On defense, the Packers shut down the Commanders, one of the top offenses from 2024, convincingly. Washington only had a 51-yard field goal by kicker Matt Gay in the first half, and the Commanders didn’t reach the end zone until the fourth quarter when Daniels connected with tight end Zach Ertz on a 20-yard pass play.
Packers star defensive end and recent newcomer Micah Parsons contributed on a sack and tallied two tackles plus three quarterback hits. Edgerrin Cooper, Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt, and Barryn Sorrell also contributed on sacks.
Green Bay tallied 12 quarterback hits overall, as Wyatt and Cooper each had two. The Packers also delivered eight pass deflections, with Keisean Nixon leading the way with five.
That resembled the Packers’ control over the Lions in Week 1. The defense amassed four sacks, nine tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, and an interception.
Similar to the Commanders, the Lions offense only managed a field goal in the first half and didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. The Lions ranked first in passing yards and sixth in rushing yards last season.
“Relentless,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters about the defense on Thursday. “Just physical, aggressive, attacking. The play style is exactly what we want from these guys, and it always starts with the energy and effort. That’s going to get you through and can overcome some of the mistakes.”
Green Bay made mistakes on Thursday, such as 10 penalties for 77 yards lost. The Packers also fell short of scoring once in the red zone and converted only 5 of 12 third downs.
Daniels, meanwhile, had his challenges with the Packers’ defense on third downs, as his team went 5-16 and 1-3 on fourth downs. Overall, he went 24-42 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns versus no interceptions. He also rushed for 17 yards on seven carries.
No Commanders running back went over 17 yards individually as the team mustered 51 yards on 19 carries collectively. Ertz was the bright spot among skill players with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin caught five passes for 48 yards, and fellow wideout Deebo Samuel had seven catches for 44 yards and touchdowns. Samuel’s score came with 2:54 left in the game. The Commanders could do nothing more offensively despite the defense serving up a chance for a comeback by forcing the Packers to punt.
Special teams likewise have been solid for the Packers thus far. Kicker Brandon McManus is 4-5 on field goals in the young season, and wide receiver Savion Williams has been solid on kick returns with at least 19.5 yards per return thus far.
With the Packers clicking on all three phases, opponents could be saying similar things to Daniels all season. The Cleveland Browns (0–1) will be next to test the waters against the Packers—a recent playoff team that significantly upgraded its roster with Parsons right before the season.
“Our players are doing a great job feeding off one another, and it’s definitely exciting to watch our defense go out there and perform, because they allow us to get up on somebody,” LaFleur said.
