Thoughts on Week 2 (2026): Green Bay Packers at New York Jets
Well, at least the Packers got the win in the end. Entering this game at MetLife Stadium (which should switch to grass, along with some other stadiums that use turf), the Packers were still looking for their first regular season win since December 7th, 2025. Despite some struggles, Green Bay got the win against the New York (Jersey) Jets in overtime to improve to 1-1 on the season. Let’s get this very rainy game over with.
The Packers were on offense to start the game after the kick return by Skyy Moore went to the Green Bay 29. Unfortunately, the drive went nowhere. A broken play on first down was followed by two unfortunate injuries on back to back plays. On second and 11, Jayden Reed took a hit and went down to the ground after a 4 yard catch and run. On third and 7 from the 32, RT Zach Bako-Bewele went down with a non-contact knee injury during an incomplete pass in which Mathew Golden dropped what would have been a huge play. Daniel Whelan was forced to punt to the Jets after that incomplete pass. 5 more punts followed suit (3 by the Jets, 2 more by Green Bay). As the first quarter was about to end, the Packers embarked on their first scoring drive of the day from their own 36. RB Kaleb Johnson started the drive with a 12 yard run to the Green Bay 48. 2 plays later, Jordan Love found Christian Watson for a 20 yard pass completion. Later in the drive, the Packers had to deal with a first and 20 after a holding penalty was called on Jacob Monk (who inadvertently started at RG for Green Bay again after his bad game last week). Love connected with Watson for a 13 yard pass completion on first and 20 from the NYJ 28 yard line. On second and 7, RB MarShawn Lloyd ran for 7 yards and a first down. 2 plays later, Lloyd caught a short pass and took it 5 yards for his first NFL touchdown. The extra point kick by Trey Smack was good, giving Green Bay a 7-0 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the first half. Green Bay’s defense was unable to stop the Jets from scoring their own TD on their next drive. What did not help matters was when Keisean Nixon was called for a defensive pass interference penalty that have the Jets a free first down at the Green Bay 21. A few plays after that penalty, the Jets scored on a 9 yard run by Braelon Allen. The extra point kick was good, tying the game at 7-7 with a little over 6 minutes left in the first half. Neither team was able to do anything after that, leaving the first half tied at 7-7.
After the first two second half drives ended in a punt (one by each team), the Jets took possession of the ball with 7 and a half minutes left in the third quarter. Jets QB Geno Smith was able to scramble for a first down on third and 4 from the NYJ 36. 2 plays after that, RB Breece Hall ran for 14 yards and a first down to the Green Bay 44. Later on, Lukas Van Ness was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty, giving the Jets a first and goal at the 5 yard line. Garrett Wilson then caught a 5 yard TD pass that, with the extra point, gave the Jets a 14-7 lead with about 2 and a half minutes left in the third quarter. After two more punts (one by each team), the Packers had possession of the ball at their own 14 yard line with 12:35 left in the fourth quarter. MarShawn Lloyd fumbled the ball and the Jets recovered it inside the Green Bay 20. Thankfully, the Packers defense kept the Jets from scoring a TD on the ensuing possession. The field goal was good, increasing the lead to 17-7 with a little over 11 minutes left in regulation. Skyy Moore took the ensuing kickoff to the Green Bay 27. From there, the offense took over as they looked to get another score. They had to convert a third and 3 from the 34, which they did with an 18 yard pass to Matthew Golden. After 2 straight penalties, the Packers faced a first and 25 from their own 37. Jordan Love threw incomplete as he was looking for Matthew Golden. However, the Jets suffered a defensive pass interference penalty that gave the Packers a first and 10 at the NYJ 25. Golden then caught a pass that he took 18 yards to the 7 yard line. Jordan Love ran for a 7 yard touchdown that was wiped out by offsetting penalties. Love took a bad hit and a couple of guys (namely Sean Rhyan & Jager Burton) came over to defend him, which was a good thing, even though the score was nullified in the end. 2 plays after the offsetting penalties, Christian Watson caught a 3 yard TD pass that, with the extra point, cut the lead to 3 with less than 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Packers defense got the job done and forced the Jets to punt on their next possession. Skyy Moore took the punt nearly all the way for a touchdown, giving the Packers a prime opportunity to finish the job. Instead of getting a touchdown, the Packers settled for a field goal after going three and out. The kick was good, tying the game at 17-17 with less than 3 minutes left in regulation. The Packers defense then got another stop when they stuffed a fourth down run out of shotgun at midfield, giving the offense a chance to clinch the win in regulation. They were not able to get into field goal range even with this situation handed to them on a silver platter. Jordan Love was sacked on the final play of regulation on a potential Hail Mary attempt, setting up overtime. The Packers defense was on the field first to start the extra period, and they got the job done by sacking Geno Smith on back to back plays and forcing the Jets to go three and out. Skyy Moore returned the punt to the Green Bay 34 yard line. From there, the offense was able to get into field goal range, with some help from a defensive penalty against the Jets. In the end, Trey Smack was called upon to attempt a 26 yard field goal, which he made. The field goal gave the Packers a 20-17 come from behind win. With this win, the Packers are now 1-1 on the season.
(Here are the highlights of the game, provided by the NFL’s YouTube page. Click on “Watch on YouTube” if you want to see how the Packers came back and won in ugly fashion.)
On offense, the Packers did not perform well at times. Things started off ugly on the first drive of the game. Not only did they go three and out, but both Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele, who are both important players on offense, left due to injury. Both injuries are serious, with Reed suffering a neck injury and Bako-Bewele suffering what looked like a season ending knee injury. As the game went on, multiple O-Linemen left the game due to injury, including Aaron Banks, Donovan Jennings, and Jacob Monk. I did not like the fact that it took all of those injuries to get Jager Burton some playing time, but he contributed well when called upon. He and Sean Rhyan were the ones, among some other players, who defended Jordan Love after Love suffered a bad hit as he ran in for a touchdown, which was wiped off due to offsetting penalties. Speaking of penalties, the Packers dealt with a whole bunch of them throughout the game (14 accepted penalties on Sunday). Even with a lot of ugliness on display, the Packers were able to get some clutch plays on offense in the fourth quarter and OT to win the game. Honestly, things turned around on offense when Love was defended by his teammates after his hit. Yes, there were some missed scoring opportunities even after that moment, but the Packers were able to get the job done in the end (with the help of the opposing coach messing up with time management). Even though the Packers have to figure out the O-Line problem again due to multiple injuries (very sad situation for Zach Bako-Bewele and Jayden Reed), they have to find ways to be more efficient on offense from drive to drive. Hopefully things are better against the Falcons on Thursday night.
On defense, the Packers were able to hold their ground for the most part against the Jets. Even though they dd not have the services of Javon Hargrave, who was out due to being in concussion protocol (plus Anthony Campbell, who left the game due to injury), the defensive front was able to play well at times. Lukas Van Ness (who got out of concussion protocol in time) played great as he tallied a sack and a half and was a key player in the Packers’ clutch moments in the final quarter and OT. Edgerrin Cooper, Javon Bullard, and Evan Williams, who were all drafted in 2024, made great plays on Sunday to help the Packers get some stops. Even though there were some rough moments, including some dumb penalties, the Packers defense was able to keep the Jets under 20 points. Even after the offense lost the ball due to a fumble recovery, the Packers defense was able to force the Jets to settle for a field goal. In overtime, the Packers defense was able to force the Jets to punt thanks to back to back sacks. I give credit to Jonathan Gannon’s unit for getting the clutch stops on Sunday. Hopefully they continue their good play as they wait for Micah Parsons to make his grand return soon.
On Special Teams, the Packers were more consistent in terms of keeping big plays from happening to them. They did not allow a ridiculously long return to give the Jets a short field to work with. On the other side, Skyy Moore had a couple of good returns, with the biggest one being over 60 yards. I wish that one would have scored a touchdown because the offense failed to capitalize on the short field given to them by the return. Yes, there were some penalties on that unit as well, but the Packers did not turn the ball over or suffer a blocked punt or field goal on Sunday. Daniel Whelan punted well in the rain and Trey Smack made his kicks, including the game winner in OT (icing the kicker did not work, Aaron Glenn). I’m just glad that the unit did not make game altering mistakes on Sunday. Hopefully that is the case all season long.
Overall, it was about as ugly of a win as one could be for the Packers. A combination of rainy conditions, injuries to key players, too many penalties, and sloppy play made things difficult for Green Bay on Sunday. I’m just glad the Packers got the win against the Jets. I was not looking for any style points here. At the end of the day, the Packers are celebrating a Victory Monday for the first time since December 8th of 2025. The celebration is short lived as the Packers have to prepare for a Thursday night game at Lambeau Field against an Atlanta Falcons team that looks awful. Nothing is guaranteed, obviously. Hopefully the Packers get the job done at home on Thursday night. I’ll be back for the recap of that game. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great week ahead. Go Pack Go.
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