Welcome to Thursday Night Football in Green Bay. The Commanders and Packers were both playoff teams in 2024; each won its opening week game over a division rival and enters Week 2 tied for the division lead. Only one team will be undefeated by the time the sun rises on Friday morning.
The good news for Commanders fans is that Washington has won 3 of the past 5 meetings between the two teams, with the latest game having been played in October 2022. The bad news is that home team won each of those 5 contests.
In fact, Washington hasn’t won at Lambeau Field since October of 1988. Dan Qinn’s team will be keen to end that particular streak.
It won’t be easy. Like Washington, the Packers are among the favorites to win the NFC Championship this year.
One advantage for Washington might be player health. The only players that have issues for Washington are punter Tress Way — but Dan Quinn minimized concerns about his availability — and DE Deatrich Wise, who popped up with a knee and ’limited’ status on Wednesday. Their status will become clear in the hours prior to kickoff.
The Packers have already ruled out two players — both defensive backups — but have 5 players with ’questionable’ status, including starting LG Aaron Banks, starting RT Zach Tom, edge rusher Micah Parsons (who played last week despite a similar designation), and DB Nate Hobbs. The loss of one or both offensive linemen, in particular, could create opportunities in the trenches for Joe Whitt’s defense.
Late in the season, as the playoff picture is taking shape, NFL fans will likely look back to this early-season game as one of those that is highly impactful in determining NFC playoff seeding. A road win against the Packers would help send a strong message to the rest of the league and set the tone for a promising 2025 season for the burgundy & gold.
The weather should be mild. The crowd should be hostile. The game should be enjoyable.
First Quarter
The game opened with Green Bay on offense at the 29-yard line in their all-white uniforms.
They moved the ball effectively to start the game, assisted by a defensive holding penalty against Lattimore to give them 1st & 10 at the Washington 40-yard line. A false start on the next snap made it 1st & 15; two plays later, the Pack faced 3rd & 9. An apparent touchdown pass was negated by an obvious hold by the Green Bay right tackle, forcing 3rd & 19 on the GB side of the midfield stripe. A checkdown pass went for 16 yards to bring up 4th & 3. A deep pass by Jordan Love was easily knocked down by rookie CB Trey Amos to force the turnover on downs — the play of the game so far.
Washington’s offense started its first drive at its own 33 yard line.
They started this week the same way they started last week, with a checkdown pass to Austin Ekeler for a few yards. Daniels scrambled for no gain on 2nd down — technically a sack. Tress Way came on to punt when Ekeler was unable to turn another check down into a first down.
After a beautiful punt, Percy Butler made a great special teams tackle inside the 5-yard line. It looked for a moment like he was going to get flagged on a dead-ball foul after the whistle (I thought he should have been), but the officials picked up the flag without penalty.
A pass to the tight end got GB out of the shadow of its own goal posts with a 15 yard catch & run. Josh Jacobs is running the ball effectively; he’s got 12 yards on 4 carries to this point.
On 2nd & 5, Love went to Tucker Kraft for a 57-yard gain to completely flip the field and ignite the home crowd. 1st & 10 at the Washington 20.
Two plays later, it was 3rd & 9 at the 19-yard line. Jordan Love kept it himself and bulled his way over Quan Martin for a 14-yard run to the WAS 5-yard line. Tucker Kraft, the tight end who made the huge catch and run, looked woozy at the end of the play.
A quick pass to Romeo Dobbs on 1st down put the Packers on the scoreboard to top off a 96-yard drive. Following the PAT, Green Bay led 7-0.
The Commanders offense started at their 35-yard line following the touchback with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.
After 2 Ekeler runs, the Commanders faced 3rd & 7. A holding call on Nick Allegretti against Micah Parsons turned it into 3rd & 17, but a short pass to Jaylin Lane went nowhere, and the Commanders had to punt again. So far, aside from the PBU by Amos, everything has gone Green Bay’s way. After two possessions for each team, the Pack has 16 plays for 145 yards; Washington has 6 plays for 11 yards.
Following the punt, the Packers took over on their own 24-yard line.
On 2nd down, Love was sacked by Jacob Martin (and a Von Miller assist) to force 3rd & 14.
A good open field tackle by Mikey Sainristil forced the 3 & out as time ran out on the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Following the punt and a facemask penalty against GB, Washington’s offense started their 3rd offensive drive of the game with great field position at their own 45-yard line.
Jayden Daniels is 3-3 for 9 yards on 3 checkdown passes. Ekeler has 2 carries for 3 yards. The offense needs to get on track.
A screen pass earned zero yards; a swing pass to Deebo added 7 more to bring up 3rd & 3 just across midfield. A short pass to McLaurin just across the line to gain earned Washington’s initial first down of the game.
After a short scramble (1 yard) and a missed pass by Jayden, it was 3rd & 9. On the 3rd down play, Jayden had great protection and threw a nice pass to Noah Brown who had gotten mauled by Nixon on his route, but the DB successfully knocked the ball out of the receiver’s hands to end the drive.
Tress Way landed the punt at the 8-yard line to give Green Bay another long field.
Love opened with a pass across the midfield stripe, but overthrew Golden by about a yard, and all the air went out of the stadium. After a good run by Jacobs, it was 3rd & 1 at the 17-yard line. Another run by Jacobs converted the Pack’s 8th first-down of the game. Green Bay is controlling the line of scrimmage in the first half.
The next play was a deep pass to Heath that was initially called out-of-bounds, but on replay, the ruling was changed to complete, adding another long gain (37 yards) for Jordan Love, who is now 9-13 for 165 yards and a touchdown. The Packers continue to dominate despite having only a 7-point lead.
Romeo Dobbs added another 17-yard catch and run. It feels like the game is rapidly getting away from Washington, who have had two defensive stops to keep the scoreboard close, while overall getting mauled by Green Bay.
Tight end Kraft added another 17-yard reception to give the Packers 1st down at the WAS 7 yard line, and then Jacobs ran it to twice to punch in the Packers’ 2nd touchdown. Following the PAT, it was 14-0.
On the extra point kick, Deatrich Wise was injured and carted off to somber commentary from Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.
Jayden Daniels led the offense back on the field with the ball at the 30-yard line and about 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the half.
Bill Merritt made his first appearance, taking a handoff for a few yards. A pass to McLaurin looked dangerous for a moment, but Terry, after batting the ball up in the air, corralled it for a 1st down near midfield.
A good reception by Noah Brown on 2nd down brought up 3rd & 1, which Bill Merritt converted easily.
A 5-yard scramble by Jayden was followed by a good pass breakup by the DB on a pass to Noah Brown to force 3rd & 5. Daniels heaved a ball towards Terry near the goal line, but the ball was 5-yards out of bounds and uncatchable. Facing 4th & 5, Matt Gay came on and squeezed the 51-yard field goal attempt inside the left upright to make the score 14-3 with about 3 minutes remaining in the half.
After the kickoff, GB’s offense took over at the 27-yard line.
Washington’s defense needs to get a stop, and the Commanders offense needs to add another score before the half.
After a good Savion Williams run, the Packers lost 10 yards on a holding penalty. A checkdown pass went nowhere, bringing up 3rd & 12 at the GB 26 yard line.
On the 3rd down play, Love scrambled and threw a potential ‘punterception’ deep downfield that ended up falling harmlessly to the turf. Washington’s defense had done its job by getting the key stop.
Jaylin Lane had a nice return on the punt — 24 yards to the Washington 43, giving JD5 and the offense a chance to make a difference with 2:02 on the clock. A touchdown here would completely change the complexion of the game with Washington getting the first possession of the 3rd quarter.
Daniels scrambled for 8 yards to give the Commanders 2nd & 2 as the officials stopped the clock for the 2-minute warning with the ball at the GB 49-yard line.
A run by Ekeler got the 1st down with the clock running.
A false start by Tunsil stopped the clock with 69 seconds remaining and moved Washington 5 yards further from the goal and cost a 10-second runoff.
Deebo pushed the ball into long field goal range with catch & run to the 40 yard line.
Unable to convert the first down, with 19 seconds left on the clock, Matt Gay came out to try a 58-yard field goal that went too far to the left.
Green Bay took over at their own 48-yard line with about 12 seconds on the clock. A quick completion put Green Bay into Washington’s territory. After a Josh Jacobs run, Matt LaFleur sent McManus out for a 48-yard field goal attempt, which bounced off the left upright — no good.
We go to the half with the Packers leading 14-3. Washington will get the ball to open the second half with a chance to get its first TD of the game and change the game’s narrative.
Halftime Stats
Statistics via ESPN
Third Quarter
Jayden Daniels and the offense took the field at the GB 45-yard line for their 6th drive of the game with another chance to change the game after a fantastic 50-yard kickoff return from Deebo Samuel. Very little has worked so far; something’s gotta change on offense if the Commanders hope to avoid a prime time loss. It’s been a season of prime time games with dramatic 2nd half turnarounds, so maybe things will start working for the visiting team.
Starting just 45 yards from the goal line, the Commanders have a great opportunity to get the 2nd half off to a good start.
Jayden dirted the ball on a failed screen on 2nd down to force 3rd & 6 with the team again in long field goal range. On 3rd down, having converted just 2 of 7 in the first half, Daniels hit Zach Ertz for a 1st down at the hash marks near the 31-yard line. Now 3 for 8 on 3rd downs in the game.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 3 at the 26-yard line, the Packers sacked Daniels with flags flying. The holding penalty against Conerly was declined.
On 4th & 13, Matt Gay’s 52-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright for the game’s 2nd doink of the night. The score remains 14-3 after 3 consecutive failed field goal attempts since the two minute warning was given before halftime.
Ugly just got uglier.
The Packers take over at their own 42-yard line.
The drive opens with a 23-yard completion to Musgrove at the WAS 35-yard line.
This was followed by a Jacobs run for what looked to be a first down; replay assist changed it to 3rd & 1, which the Packers converted easily with another pass to Musgrave.
An offensive holding penalty followed by a false start changed things a bit by making it 1st & 25 at the 32-yard line. It didn’t bother Love at all — he simply hit Kraft for a 19-yard gain. A Jacobs run earned the first down at the WAS 7-yard line.
Under pressure, Love floated a pass out of bounds on 1st down. Jacobs was stopped at the 4 yard line to force 3rd & goal. On 3rd down, Love retreated from the pass rush again and floated another pass out of bounds.
McManus came out to attempt a 22-yard field goal, which he squeezed just inside the right upright to make the score 17-3 in favor of the Packers with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
The defense is hanging in there; Washington’s offense needs to find the “on” switch sometime very soon.
Two plays into the drive, after a short pass and a stuffed Ekeler run, it was 3rd & 3. Under some pressure, Daniels hurried his throw and missed the receiver. Out came Tress Way to punt.
After a penalty against Green Bay, the Packers took over at their own 7-yard line with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Washington’s defense needs to strap it up again and get the ball back for an offense that has been completely stymied all night.
Two Josh Jacobs runs earned just 2 yards. On 3rd & 8 at the 9-yard line, the Commanders pressured Love, who hit nothing but grass with his pass.
The defense has stepped up again. Jaylin Lane had a nice punt return to the 50-yard line — special teams again doing its job and giving the offense good starting field position. Everyone is waiting for the light to come on for the offense. Complementary football requires the offense to score more than 3 points in 3 quarters.
With about 3 1/2 minutes in the quarter, the Commanders come out for drive #8. So far, GB has 16 first downs; Washington has only 5.
Daniels went 30-yards deep to Noah Brown again, who was tightly covered on the sideline and was unable to pull the ball in. After a Zach Ertz catch for 8 yards, it was 3rd & 2. Ekeler ran tough, but came up inches short of the first down, so Dan Quinn decided, for the first time this season, to go for it on 4th down.
Ekeler ran tough again, and converted the 1st down. On the next play, Daniels was sacked by Rashan Gary rushing against Josh Conerly.
Jayden made up a lot of ground with an 11-yard strike to Zach Ertz. On 3rd & 7 at the 37-yard line, Jayden dropped a pass short intended for Terry down the left sideline. Despite being in long field goal range, DQ kept the offense on the field on 4th & 7. The pass was completed right at the line to gain, but a penalty flag for defensive holding made the measurement moot with 5 yards and a fresh set of downs, putting the ball at the 32-yard line.
On 1st down, Daniels scrambled and added to GB’s sack total by stepping out of bounds at the line of scrimmage for another zero-yardage sack as the quarter came to an end.
Fourth Quarter
Daniels has just 88 yards passing in 3 quarters and has been sacked 4 times for 19 yards. Parsons chases JD5 out of the pocket for a 1-yard gain to force 3rd & 9 at the GB 31-yard line. The Commanders need a touchdown here.
They may get it. McLaurin found a soft spot in the zone and got the 9 yards needed. 1st & 10 at the 20 yard line.
On the next play, Zach Ertz caught the ball and slowly rumbled forward to the end zone for the Commanders’ first touchdown of the game!
After the PAT, the score was Packers 17 – Commanders 10.
After the touchback, the Packers start at their own 35-yard line.
Washington’s defense has had a chance to rest. Let’s hope they can make another key stop.
Lattimore gives up a 10-yard pass and then gets flagged for holding to give the Packers a pair of 1st downs and put the ball at midfield.
Good coverage by Quan Martin and good tackling on Jacobs brings up 3rd & 6 at the 46-yard line. On 3rd down, Love, under heavy pressure completes an 8-yard pass to Kraft negating a penalty flag against safety Will Harris. Kraft has 116 yards so far.
Savion Williams got loose on a wildcat run play, but slipped and fell, saving the Commanders from a bigger play, giving GB a 1st down at the WAS 19.
Two plays later, the Pack had 1st & goal at the 8 yard line. On the first down play, Kraft caught an easy touchdown pass from Jordan Love to put the cherry on top of his performance.
After the PAT, the score was 24-10 with about 9 minutes to play.
Washington will now need some magic to overcome Green Bay’s 2-score lead. Will there be any joy in Mudville tonight?
The offense runs the no-huddle, but the clock is running. Two plays later, it’s 3rd & 4 at the 40-yard line.
On 3rd down, Daniels’ pass is batted down at the line and, out of necessity, the offense stays on the field to attempt another 4th down play.
A pass to Jaylin Lane was batted out of the receiver’s hands on the quick slant.
Packers offense takes over in Washington territory with the smell of a home-team victory in the air. So far, Jayden Daniels has been under duress and under control. Only a dramatic change in the game will head off disaster.
A 3 & out offered some reprieve as GB faced 4th & 8 at the 38-yard line. McManus, however, hit the 56-yard attempt to open a 3-score lead with 06:42 on the clock. The smell of cheese is in the air. Probably the best that Washington can hope for is a late score or two to make the score look more respectable.
Jayden takes the underneath completions that the Packers are happy to give him with the clock running. Across midfield in two plays, a pair of incompletions bring up 3rd & 10 with under 6 minutes on the clock. Deebo converts the 1st down, but Ekeler suffered a non-contact leg injury on the play and looked to be in a lot of pain. He was virtually carried off the field in what had the look of a season-ending injury.
On the next play, Luke McCaffrey made a much needed play, catching a 19-yard pass for another set of downs.
A defensive holding penalty on a play at the 11-yard line made it 1st & goal at the 3.
With the official holding the play for substitutions, the play clock hit zero and the Commanders had to burn a time out — which, given the game circumstance, probably won’t matter.
A false start on Allegretti isn’t welcome, pushing the ball back 5 more yards. With clock ticking, Daniels ran for a yard, then hit Deebo on 2nd down for a touchdown on a good run after catch.
DQ left his offense on the field for the 2-point conversion attempt, which was successful on a Jayden scramble-then-pass to Luke McCaffrey in the back of the end zone.
The score is now 27-18 and Washington is attempting an onside kick with 02:53 on the game clock.
Predictably, the onside kick failed, with the Packers securing the ball easily.
Matt LeFleur, as expected, called a handoff to the running back. Washington used its final time out. On 2nd down, the Packers tried to fool the defense by running a play action pass, but instead, suffered an 11-yard loss on a sack. The Packers ran another running play on 3rd down, gaining 10 yards as the two minute warning whistle blew.
When play resumed, the Packers faced 4th & 11 at their own 48-yard line and brought out their punter, who kicked a touchback, giving the Commanders the ball at the 20-yard line.
Washington will be hoping for a quick score and then a miracle on another onside kick.
The Packers gave them the underneath routes that kept the clock running. A batted pass and an incomplete pass forced 4th & 10 with 57 seconds and the ball at the WAS 33-yard line. When the pass fell incomplete, the game as over bar Love taking a knee to run out the clock.
Full Game Stats
Statistics via ESPN
Join our partner FanDuel for all your betting needs
