Happy birthday Dan Quinn, sorry your party’s so lame. Last night, the Green Bay Packers faced off against the Washington Commanders for the first time in three years, and this time, they came away with a commanding (clap for me) 27-18 win. The scoreboard suggests this was a close game, but it was all Green Bay from the moment they took the field. With the Packers sitting at 2-0 for the first time since the 2020 season, things are feeling pretty exciting for fans of the green and gold as they continue
to reap the benefits of the recent Micah Parsons trade. Let’s dive into last night’s winners and losers, and take a look at what’s coming up next.
Winner: Matt LaFleur
Last night was a fun one for HC Matt LaFleur, who has beaten up on Dan Quinn’s teams pretty consistently over the years, and moved to 4-0 against him with last night’s win. LaFleur called everything perfectly for the Packers offense, despite the team being down multiple offensive linemen and losing WR Jayden Reed to a broken collarbone early on in the first quarter. The offense was moving the ball quickly, and while they weren’t afraid to have a little fun at the most random points in the game (WILDCAT, Matthew?), they kept going back to what worked last night: WR Dontayvion Wicks and TE Tucker Kraft.
Small sample size obviously, but through two games, the Packers are scoring 27 points per game, and they don’t look like they’ve found their full stride yet. Rookie WR Matthew Golden has yet to be fully utilized, RB Josh Jacobs is quietly waiting in the darkness for his inevitable big moment, and we’re still experimenting with offensive line rotations. There are of course going to be people who say the Packers should’ve won bigger last night, and to them I say: WELL OK. I’ll be choosing to look at this from an optimist’s perspective. If the Packers dominated the game this much with an offense that’s just getting going, things are going to get incredibly fun soon.
Winner: Jordan Love
With the success of Matt LaFleur last night of course comes the success of QB Jordan Love. I don’t know if maybe it’s the magic that comes with being a Packers QB in their age-27 season, but something about Love looks…different this year (he’s healthy). He and Matt LaFleur are, how you say, vibing? Love once again looked calm and in control last night, and had a ton of fun slinging that ball all OVER the field. His average depth of target last night was 14.7 yards, more than double that of opposing QB Jayden Daniels (7.1). A true quarterback. There were some risky throws, and some silly-body throws last night, which can definitely alter the trajectory of a game if you’re not smart, but it never truly felt like the Packers were close to giving up control at any point in the game. When those throws happened, I felt like I was looking into a sitcom camera with my hands on my hips saying “There’s our silly quarterback!”
Speaking of throwing the ball, let’s talk about Jordan Love’s legs. With his groin injury last year, I think people may have forgotten that Love can hurt defenses by scrambling. He expressed the desire this summer to scramble more, and last night, we saw him convert on 3rd and 9 with an absolutely electric run. This run in particular reminded me of when Aaron Rodgers started to look more comfortable on his feet. Seeing more of this in 2025 and beyond wouldn’t upset me. Love finished the night 19 of 31 for 292 yards, 2 TDs, and no picks for a 113.9 passer rating.
Winner: Tucker Kraft
The world is finally waking up and realizing the Packers might have one of the best tight ends in the league. In “stats that don’t sound true but are”, Tucker Kraft had his first 100-yard game as a pro last night. I could’ve sworn this had happened already. He’s been a fundamental part of the Packers’ offense for some time now, and last night was no exception. Kraft was the team’s leading pass catcher with 6 receptions on 7 targets for 124 yards and a TD. He’s been ol’ reliable for Jordan Love when the team needs to move the ball, because that YAC is just so, so good. I don’t think last night will end up being Kraft’s best game of the season. The best is yet to come.
Winner: Malik Heath
Malik Heath is a winner for one play, but it’s the play of his life. Take a look at Jared Cook 2.0, everybody.
Winner: Josh Jacobs
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jacobs again this week. Counting playoff games, the Packers RB had his 11th straight game with a rushing touchdown, and is now just the fourth player since 2000 to reach that mark. As I mentioned earlier, Jacobs is also just heating up. He will get his moment in 2025. For now, we’re settling for a “measly” 84 yards on 23 carries with a score.
Loser: Special Teams
Last night was a disaster for the special teams unit and I fear this won’t be the last time I utter these words this season. There were decisions to take the ball out when a fair catch was the way to go, and starting field position suffered as a result. There were penalties that also took away yardage on some of these returns. Coverage was absolutely awful on the Commanders returns, and did I mention penalties? You can’t give up a 14 yard return and then also add 15 more yards with an easily-avoidable facemask penalty. If the Commanders were able to do anything on offense, this game could’ve gone in a whole other direction. This unit needs to improve before my war flashbacks get worse.
Winner: Javon Bullard
Javon Bullard had one of his better games as a Packer last night, a nice welcome after an inconsistent 2024 season (and bad week 1 against the Lions). Multiple times, he was there to stop the play immediately, and he ended up blowing up a Jayden Daniels scramble which we’ve seen hurt other teams so many times in the past. Micah Parsons mentioned previously how he makes the guys around him better, and it looks like Bullard reaped the benefits last night. With an actual pass rush forcing the Commanders to get the ball out quickly, Bullard looked great making sure those short plays didn’t turn into big gains. Bullard finished the night with 5 solo tackles.
Winner: Keisean Nixon
Speaking of guys who didn’t have the greatest week 1 performances, Keisean YOU DOG! Not only did Nixon have one of his best games as a Packer last night, he had one of the best performances we’ve seen from a Packers defensive back in recent memory. Nixon recorded a whopping FIVE pass breakups, a number we have not seen since 2018 by the guy he replaced, Jaire Alexander. He was targeted six times last night, allowing just one catch for 9 yards. He allowed almost no separation and was the definition of sticky. Nixon called his shot when he said he wanted to be CB1, and last night he backed up every word of it.
Winner: My DPOY Agenda
Micah Parsons.
Micah Parsons.
MICAH PARSONS. Parsons was triple teamed at one point last night, and was still able to collapse the pocket. We could end the discussion right there. He’s incredible, and I still can’t believe he’s a Packer. He was an absolute game-changer once again (still on limited snaps!), and this time, some of the obvious holds on him were actually being called! The Commanders offensive line was struggling all night to contain him, and he was credited with EIGHT pressures on just 37 pass rushes as a result. Parsons finished the night with 2 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 3 QB hits.
As Parsons promised, the rest of the defense looked great as well, recording 4 total sacks between himself, Edgerrin Cooper, Karl Brooks, Barryn Sorrell, Devonte Wyatt, and Rashan Gary. The Commanders, who had 432 yards of offense last week, were limited to just 230 total yards and 18 points last night. Jayden Daniels, one of the league’s top rushing quarterbacks, had 17 rushing yards. The Packers defense doesn’t just look better with Parsons, they look GOOD. What is this life?
With some extended rest coming their way, the Packers won’t play again until September 21st, when they travel to Cleveland to face off against the currently 0-1 Browns. With some injuries on offensive line and one of their top receivers out, this should be a pretty big test for Jordan Love and the offense against a pretty-good Browns defense. For now, let’s enjoy 2-0.
