The Green Bay Packers survived an overall poor performance in the rain at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, outlasting the hosting New York Jets by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game and winning it on a field goal in overtime.
The Packers needed star performances from a handful of players to get the job done.
The studs and duds from Week 2:
Studs
EDGE Lukas Van Ness: "Hercules" was at his very best on Sunday. Nine pressures, eight stops. Five different times, a play made by Van Ness helped the Packers end a Jets drive, including the 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter and the sack in overtime. The hulking edge rusher even made a tackle after dropping into coverage and had a crunching tackle covering a punt. The Jets tried to block him at times with
a tight end, and he won those battles easily. On the fourth down stop, Van Ness shot off the ball, beat the blocker to the spot and stuffed the run. His mix of size, strength and speed was overwhelming against the Jets front.
WR Skyy Moore: His four kickoff returns and four punt returns netted 209 return yards. Do the Packers win without his 63-yard punt return in the fourth quarter? Moore is a big play waiting to happen because he can consistently make the first man miss as a returner. On the 63-yarder, Moore beat the first man with a quick move and was off to the races. The Packers have an exciting, field-flipping player at returner, finally.
DB Javon Bullard: His physical, fearless playstyle radiates off the tape. Bullard plays the run as well as any slot defender in football. He will take on pulling offensive linemen without a second thought, and he blew up a couple of runs on Sunday by winning the battle at the point of attack against a much larger player. Bullard also broke up a couple of passes, including one on a terrific play downfield in the first quarter. His taunting penalty was bogus. He should have had a pick, but the read to get into position was terrific. Bullard is ascending in a big way to start Year 3.
S Evan Williams: His ranging pass breakup in the fourth quarter saved the day. Keisean Nixon was out of position, but Williams got on his horse, put himself into position and was physical at the catch point, preventing what could have been the game-winning play for the Jets. He gave up just one catch into his coverage, and he didn't miss a tackle on seven attempts. Even as a blitzer, Williams produced a hurry and a hit. On special teams, Williams added two stops covering kicks and punts. A complete football player.
WR Matthew Golden: His four catches gained 58 yards, including a crucial catch on third down to extend a touchdown drive, the 14-yarder in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal and 31 total yards after the catch. Just as important, however, were the two defensive pass interference penalties he drew, providing 61 more yards. One got the Packers out of a 1st-and-25 situation. Turning eight targets into 119 total yards (counting the penalty yards) is a good day for anyone.
LB Edgerrin Cooper: Among his highlight plays were a pair of run stuffs creating 1-yard losses and a sack that featured him stunt outside as a free runner to the quarterback. On one stuff, Cooper lined up on the edge, immediately shed the block on the outside and stuffed the ballcarrier behind the line. On two other runs, Cooper was right there to make the stop within two yards of the line. He's becoming a surer tackler, too. He was in on eight tackle attempts without a miss on Sunday.
K Trey Smack: In the rain, and in a tough stadium to kick the ball, the Packers rookie kicker calmly made both of his field goals and both of his extra points. He also didn't have a touchback on five kickoff attempts, and the Jets average starting field position after kickoffs was the 27. Of course, Smack was right down the middle on his 26-yard walk-off winner in overtime, even after the Jets tried to ice him with a timeout.
Duds
CB Keisean Nixon: The rollercoaster ride that is Keisean Nixon is alive and well through two weeks. After rightfully landing among the "studs" in Week 1, Nixon fell firmly into the "duds" category a week later. On one touchdown drive for the Jets, Nixon gave up a third-down conversion to Garrett Wilson, committed a 34-yard pass interference penalty, gave up a third-down conversion to Adonai Mitchell and then lost contain on a touchdown run. Next Gen Stats tagged Nixon with allowing eight catches into his coverage. He was flagged twice for pass interference. To his credit, he stopped Breece Hall from scoring a touchdown on a catch late in the third quarter.
WR Christian Watson: He had a touchdown in the red zone and two other big-play catches, but Watson also missed multiple blocks, committed a holding penalty, dropped two or three passes and finished 1-for-4 on contested catches. His 11 targets netted only 41 yards. Watson is the No. 1 target in the passing game. With great power comes great responsibility. He'll be better. Blocking and contested catches are among his biggest strengths.
RB MarShawn Lloyd: He scored his first regular season touchdown on a 6-yard catch in the first half, but Lloyd also nearly fumbled the game away in the fourth quarter. His six rushes gained only 20 yards, and it looked like Lloyd's vision as a runner in this Packers scheme is still a work in progress.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Studs and duds from Packers' Week 2 win over the Jets
