Green Bay starts fast, survives late push
A breakout tight end and a calm quarterback sent a simple message on a cool Thursday in Green Bay: this offense has layers. The Packers handled the Commanders 27-18 under the lights at Lambeau Field, improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2020 and giving a loud crowd plenty to sing about on the walk home.
Jordan Love looked in control from the jump, finishing with 292 yards and two touchdowns as Green Bay rolled up 404 total yards. The drive that mattered most came late. With Washington closing in, Love found Tucker Kraft on an 8-yard strike with 8:57 left in the fourth quarter, a no-frills throw-and-catch that rebuilt a two-possession cushion and iced any comeback talk.
This night belonged to Kraft. The second-year tight end posted six catches for a career-high 124 yards and that fourth-quarter score. It was his first 100-yard game at any level, a milestone that didn’t happen by accident. Green Bay kept him on the move—leaks into the flat, quick seams, and catch-and-run chances against linebackers—and he punished soft spots when Washington slid coverage to the outside.
Love didn’t force anything. He worked the middle of the field, took what he had underneath, and picked his moments for chunk plays. A handful of drive-sustaining throws on third down flipped the game’s rhythm, and his timing on play-action kept Washington from teeing off. It wasn’t flashy; it was the kind of efficient night that lets a team control pace without living on highlight reels.
The defense set the tone early. Washington managed just three points over its first seven possessions, a stretch defined by steady pressure and tight coverage. Green Bay’s front squeezed the pocket, and the tackling stayed clean on the edges. That early control didn’t show up as gaudy numbers from one star; it looked like a defense moving in sync—safeties triggering downhill, corners passing off routes, and the line winning enough first downs to tilt the down-and-distance game.
Washington rookie Jayden Daniels didn’t fold. After a choppy start, he settled and started extending plays, using his legs to buy time and get the Commanders back within a score in the fourth quarter. The issue was the hole they had already dug. Too many early drives stalled, and a few promising sequences ended short of the sticks. Once Green Bay answered with the late touchdown to Kraft, the margin was too much to chase.
Play-calling told its own story. Matt LaFleur leaned on pre-snap motion and quick-game answers to keep the Commanders off balance, then mixed in shot looks when protections held. Washington tried to toggle between press and zone shells to disrupt timing, but the Packers kept finding daylight in the intermediate windows. The result was a night where Green Bay didn’t need perfection to look comfortable.
Field position quietly mattered, too. The Packers won enough punts near midfield and avoided the back-breaking mistake that hands a game easy points. That steady edge kept Washington’s offense working on long fields, which plays right into a defense that was tackling and communicating well.
What it means heading into Week 3
Two weeks in, Green Bay has a real foothold. The Packers followed last week’s 27-13 win over Detroit with another clean effort, and now they get the mini-bye that comes with a Thursday game. That extra rest helps a young roster recover and gives coaches time to build out packages that worked for Love and Kraft.
Love’s composure stands out. He commanded tempo, protected field position, and found his tight end when the game asked for it. If Kraft keeps demanding targets like this, defenses will have to pick between bracketing the middle and living with one-on-ones outside. That’s the kind of choice LaFleur loves to force, because it opens both the play-action game and the quick perimeter throws that turn into easy yards.
For Washington, the record drops to 1-1, but the night wasn’t without positives. Daniels showed poise in a hostile place, kept his eyes up while moving, and cut the deficit late. The fixes are clear: cleaner early-down execution, faster answers versus pressure, and a defense that gets off the field sooner. Dan Quinn’s group played hard; the slow start cost them the script they wanted.
Numbers rarely tell the whole story, but the scoreboard and a few markers do the talking here. Green Bay put up 404 yards, held Washington to three points across those first seven drives, and closed with a red-zone throw when it mattered most. On a short week, that’s how you bank wins in September. For a team trying to stack confidence around a young quarterback and a rising tight end, Packers vs Commanders felt like a snapshot of what this offense can become—and what this defense can smother when it gets to play from ahead.
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