John Keim
Rob Demovsky
Rob Demovsky
ESPN Staff Writer
Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Remember when the Green Bay Packers couldn’t beat any playoff-caliber teams?
They took care of that twice in a matter of five days to start the season. They defeated the Washington Commanders 27-18 on Thursday night at Lambeau Field after opening the season with a win over the Detroit Lions there Sunday.
Last year, the Lions won 15 games and the Commanders prevailed in 12 on their way to the NFC Championship Game. The Packers became just the fifth team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to win their first two games against teams that won 12 or more contests the previous season.
This after going a combined 0-6 last season against the Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles.
It also gives the Packers a 2-0 start for the first time since 2020, when they started 4-0 on their way to a 13-win campaign.
The Commanders fell to 1-1 and returned home to play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.
Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:
Green Bay Packers (2-0)
What to make of the QB performance: Just think of the yardage the Packers will pile up when Jordan Love connects on the deep balls. He missed Matthew Golden deep twice in the first half, yet he still had 214 yards passing through two quarters — his most in the first half in his career and the most by any Packers quarterback since Aaron Rodgers in Week 4 of 2020 against the Falcons with 228 yards. Love finished with 292 yards.
The Parsons factor: Defensive end Micah Parsons faced multiple double teams — and even a triple team on one play — yet still managed a half-sack and three QB hits. He also drew an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty and likely forced a false start against the Commanders. He was held on the sack he shared with Edgerrin Cooper, but that penalty was declined. Overall, the Packers recorded 12 hits on Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Most surprising performance: The surprising part about Tucker Kraft’s six-catch, 124-yard, one touchdown game was that it was his first career 100-yard receiving performance. As good as Kraft was last year in his 50-catch, seven-touchdown season, he did not hit the 100-yard mark in a contest. Kraft was a budding star going into this season, and he might be on his way to full-on stardom.
Trend to watch: Teams should know by now what’s going to happen when the Packers get near the goal line: Josh Jacobs is getting the ball and scoring. It happened for the 10th straight regular-season game Thursday, when Jacobs scored on a 2-yard run to give the Packers a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Jacobs got the ball on the play before, too, and rushed for 5 yards on first-and-goal from the 7. Jacobs extended his franchise record for consecutive games with a touchdown and became just the fourth player over the past 30 seasons with a rushing touchdown in at least 10 straight games, joining LaDainian Tomlinson (18 straight from 2004-05), Jonathan Taylor (11 straight in 2021) and Priest Holmes (11 straight in 2002).
Next game: at Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET, Sept. 21)
Washington Commanders (1-1)
The Commanders wanted to distance themselves from last season, preferring to look forward. Thursday’s game, unfortunately for Washington, will provide that distance.
The Commanders looked nothing like the team that surprised the NFL by reaching the NFC Championship Game in January.
Though the final tally was 27-18 and the Commanders were only down one score early in the fourth quarter, make no mistake: Green Bay dominated this game.
The Packers made Daniels look ordinary and held an offense that ranked seventh in yards last season to 230 overall.
They made Washington’s defense look pedestrian, gaining 406 yards and hitting numerous big plays.
Worse for Washington, it also lost multiple key players during the game — defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., (quad), receiver Noah Brown (groin), tight end John Bates (groin) and running back Austin Ekeler (Achilles) all left the game.
It was the Commanders’ first of five Prime Time games this season. But it was a forgettable performance — one they’ll want to distance themselves from as soon as possible.
Trend to watch: Matt Gay was once one of the NFL’s better kickers from 50 yards and beyond; in his first five years he made 25-of-36 from that distance. However, he has now made just 1-of-3 this season and is 4-of-12 since the start of last season. Washington had hoped he solved its kicking issues after using four place-kickers last season, but his inability to connect from long distance makes that questionable.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Take your pick. But Washington’s defense looked slow against Green Bay’s offense. Too often Packers targets were running open, which is why they had eight plays of 15 yards or longer — one for 57 and another for 37. The Packers hurt them by sending receivers in motion, who then beat the corners to the outside when Washington played man coverage, as well as with play-action passes down the field.
What to make of the QB performance: No team has made Daniels look as pedestrian as the Packers did Thursday night. Credit the Green Bay pass rush and its speed to chase him down when he scrambled. The Packers sacked Daniels four times and held him to 17 yards rushing. He threw for 200 yards, but most of that came when the Commanders were down 17. His offensive line provided little help, notably rookie right tackle Josh Conerly Jr., who has struggled in the first two games in pass protection.
Next game: vs. Las Vegas Raiders (1 p.m. ET, Sept. 21)
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