Discipline and depth will appear to be the Green Bay Packers’ biggest challenges in the 2026 season. But somehow, they managed to overcome both issues and get their first win since early December.
After being flagged for 12 penalties and racking up 98 yards in week one, the Packers somehow eclipsed those numbers against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Green Bay was flagged for 17 penalties in this game, 14 of which were accepted for a total of 133 yards. Meanwhile, the team
lost a pair of key offensive starters on the very first drive of the game and scuffled to an abysmal offensive showing through 45 minutes of game time.
Still, the Packers fought back, with the defense playing hard and the offense doing just enough to rally back from a ten-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game at 17 with three minutes remaining. A massive short-yardage stop by Green Bay’s defense just inside the two-minute warning set up the offense with a chance to go win the game from midfield, but they couldn’t do it, gaining just five yards on three plays and sending the game to overtime.
Back-to-back sacks by the Packers defense on the first two plays of overtime scuttled the Jets’ first possession, and the offense did enough — with some help from a big penalty on the Jets — to quickly get into field goal range. That gave Trey Smack his first game-winning field goal as a pro, as he connected from 26 yards away to send Green Bay back home with a 20-17 victory.
The first drive of the game saw both Reed and Bako-Bewele lost for the game — and quite possibly longer — on back-to-back plays. Reed went down on a second down screen pass and was stretchered off the field with a neck injury, and one play later Bako-Bewele injured his knee and had to be carted off the field as well.
The rest of the first quarter was a slop-fest, with the Packers getting flagged six times in the first 12 minutes (with five of those penalties accepted). Still, the Green Bay defense was doing its job, keeping the Jets from reaching midfield, while Daniel Whelan was the biggest offensive weapon, punting three times for at least 58 yards each time.
Green Bay finally got a drive going in the second quarter, spurred on by a bit of juice in the running game. Kaleb Johnson ripped off a 12-yard run to start the Packers’ fourth series, then Love found Christian Watson for gains of 20 and 13 yards to keep moving down the field. Love would hit MarShawn Lloyd out of the backfield and Lloyd scampered into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown, his first in a regular season NFL game.
The Jets responded in kind, however, attacking Keisean Nixon frequently. Nixon drew a 34-yard pass interference penalty on Adonai Mitchell before Mitchell burned him for a 14-yard gain on 3rd-and-9 in the red zone. Finally, Nixon lost contain on Braelon Allen, as the Wisconsin native ran off the right end into the end zone to tie the game at 7.
Another punt from the Packers gave the Jets a chance for a long drive to try to take the lead before halftime, but after allowing three third down conversions on the drive, the clock ran out before New York could get into field goal range. At the half, the two teams combined for 197 yards of total offense and 110 yards of penalties.
The start to the third quarter was more of the same for both teams on their first drives, except for a poor 36-yard punt by Whelan after the Packers’ failed series. The Jets’ second drive gave them a lead as Green Bay’s defense failed to tackle throughout the drive. Missed tackles by Karl Brooks (on a would-be sack of Geno Smith) and Xavier McKinney (trying to lay a big hit on an end-around instead of wrapping up) led to first downs, and Smith eventually found Garrett Wilson for a touchdown. Smith put the ball just past the outstretched hands of rookie Brandon Cisse as Wilson’s score put New York up 14-7.
Another 3-and-out for the Packers led to a threatening Jets drive, but a fumbled exchange between Smith and Braelon Allen followed by a sack from Edgerrin Cooper pushed them back out of field goal range. MarShawn Lloyd’s fumble issues reared their ugly head on the very first play of the next series, however, as former Packer Kingsley Enagbare stripped the football and Harrison Phillips recovered, leading to a field goal that expanded the Jets’ lead to ten points.
The Packers finally converted their first third down of the day on the next series, with Matthew Golden picking up a first down on a slant. Golden then drew a pass interference penalty and had another long catch to set the Packers up with goal to go. Love finally connected with Watson cutting across the end zone for a touchdown, getting back to within three points at 17-14 with eight minutes to go.
Fortunately, Green Bay’s defense got a fairly quick stop, giving up just one first down and sending the ball back with a punt at just under 5 minutes on the clock. Skyy Moore delivered a huge play on the ensuing punt return, however, picking up 66 yards and setting the Packers up inside the red zone. Green Bay had to settle for a field goal, however; two runs for Chris Brooks picked up three yards and on third down, Christian Watson couldn’t haul in a pass from a hurried Love. Trey Smack hit his 34-yard field goal easily, tying the game at 17 with 2:59 on the clock.
The Jets faced a crucial 3rd-and-2 near midfield coming out of the two-minute warning, but the Packers’ defensive line held twice — first on third down and again on 4th-and-1 — to turn the ball back over to the offense with a chance to go win the game. Love was only able to pick up five yards on three pass attempts, and the Packers played with the clock a bit, taking a delay of game to get a Hail Mary attempt with two seconds left on the clock. The Jets brought pressure, however, and Enagbare got a sack to send the game to overtime.
On the first two plays of overtime, the Packers got sacks of Geno Smith, first by Barryn Sorrell then a second split by Van Ness and Dani Dennis-Sutton. A false start gave the Jets a 3rd-and-30 from their own 10, and a short pass to Kenyon Sadiq brought on a punt.
Starting from their own 34, Kaleb Johnson picked up 11 yards off the left end on the first play to move the chains right away. On 2nd and 7, Love found Chris Brooks out of the backfield for a 15-yard gain, and the Jets were flagged for throwing Brooks to the ground well out of bounds, setting Green Bay up well inside field goal range. Love then found Golden for 14 yards to set up first and goal.
The Packers wasted no time to send out their rookie kicker for his first game-winning field goal attempt. Trey Smack drilled his 26-yard kick, sending the Packers home winners for the first time since early December of 2025.
