The Green Bay Packers outlasted the New York Jets in an ugly, rain-soaked game at MetLife Stadium, eking out a 20-17 win in overtime to get to 1-1 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s nerve-shredding victory:
The Lukas Van Ness game
Van Ness arguably broke out last year in terms of his snap-to-snap performance, but injuries meant he could not stack a lot of production. He is off to a hot start in 2026 and this game rubber-stamped his ascension.
The fourth-year edge rusher now has three sacks through two games per PFF – which is the same number as he had all last season – after getting to Geno Smith twice on Sunday. He had seven pressures in total and seven run stops, including the crucial tackle on 4th and 1 late in the game.
If Van Ness can continue to
have this type of impact week to week, it will be huge for the Packers defense, especially once Micah Parsons returns.
Lukas Van Ness generated a career-high nine pressures against the Jets in Week 2, recording five in under 2.5 seconds, tied for the third-most by a Packers defender since 2020.#GBvsNYJ | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/A3avmr0stl
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 20, 2026
Offensive line concerns could get worse
The offensive line labored again, struggling to open holes for the running backs and putting Jordan Love under pressure. Granted, there were some plays where they generated movement in the run game and Love was only pressured on 25% of his dropbacks compared to over 50% last week.
More concerning is the fact Zach Bako-Bewele may have suffered a season-ending knee injury, which would probably be a death blow to the line’s chances of being passable for a Super Bowl contender. Matt LaFleur admitted it is possible the injury could be long-term.
Green Bay rotated at left guard throughout the game between Jacob Monk, Jager Burton and Donovan Jennings as they continued to search for answers. Who knows if they will find them. The offensive line might simply be a fatal flaw for the Packers this year.
Defense finishes the job
The Packers have been accused of not knowing how to finish as they regularly blew late leads in the six-game losing streak which stretched back to last season. It was extremely ugly, but they found a way on Sunday, mostly due to the defense which kept them in the game.
They deserved to come out of the Vikings game with more credit, and the scoreboard did not reflect all the good work they did. This week, they can get the plaudits they deserve.
When Green Bay absolutely had to make plays, they made enough to get over the line and overcome the adversity of the elements and also of their own making. That is mainly thanks to the defense. For a team that has not won a game since early December of 2025, it’s a start.
Matt LaFleur’s baffling game plan
To LaFleur’s defense, it is hard to call plays when no one is blocking, catching the ball or holding onto it when they do have it, but the offense was an awful watch today and his game plan seemed bizarre.
The absence of plays for Tucker Kraft in the short area is baffling, even if he did have one of Green Bay’s seemingly endless fumbles, and the decision to run into the teeth of the Jets defense twice in a row after Moore’s explosive punt return was cowardly.
He was frankly bailed out by Aaron Glenn managing the end of the game more poorly than him, and by Jonathan Gannon’s defense handing the win to him on a plate.
Special teams did their part
Cam Achord’s special teams unit did some good things in the season opener, but also gave up a big return which helped Minnesota get back in the game. Against the Jets, they were nearly flawless and contributed to the win in a big way.
Skyy Moore had over 200 total yards as a returner, including a 43-yard kick return and a 63-yard punt return. Trey Smack made all his kicks, including the game-winner, and Daniel Whelan boomed the ball for most of the game, forcing two muffed punts on the way.
For the other issues the Packers have, they can at least be thankful that early in the season, the special teams seems competent.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Quick takeaways from Packers' 20-17 win over Jets: The Lukas Van Ness game
