Green Bay Packers roll past Commanders 27-18 as Jordan Love shines, defense smothers Jayden Daniels

Packers seize prime time and never let go

406 to 230. That was the yardage gap on Thursday night at Lambeau Field, and it tells you almost everything you need to know. The Green Bay Packers never trailed, never panicked, and never allowed Washington to feel comfortable in a 27-18 game that was far less dramatic than the score suggests.

Green Bay had control early. Washington gained just 11 yards in the first quarter, the pass rush squeezed the pocket on almost every dropback, and the Packers offense played on schedule. On a short field and in long drives alike, the execution was clean: motion, play-action, and a steady run-pass mix that kept the Commanders off balance.

Jordan Love was calm and sharp. He completed 19 of 31 passes, hit Romeo Doubs on a quick-strike 5-yarder in the red zone, and later found tight end Tucker Kraft for another score. The timing with Doubs looked polished, while Kraft’s usage—inline, detached, and in motion—continues to climb. Kraft’s growth is no longer a subplot; he’s a featured piece of this offense.

What made Love’s night more impressive was the context up front. Green Bay played without injured linemen Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, yet the protection plan held up. The Packers helped the edges with chips, leaned on quick game when needed, and used movement to buy Love space. When Washington tried to heat him up, Love answered with rhythm throws and selective shots. No panic, just answers.

Matt LaFleur leaned into misdirection and formational variety. Green Bay didn’t chase explosives; it built them. A steady diet of early-down efficiency put the Commanders into conflict, and that opened up the red zone. The Doubs touchdown came on a well-timed concept that isolated leverage near the goal line. The Kraft score was a product of pacing—slow the rush, stress the seam, make the defense honor the middle of the field.

The ground game wasn’t flashy, but it was valuable. It kept the front honest and let the Packers stay ahead of the sticks. That showed up on third downs, where Love rarely faced long-yardage trouble. It also showed in the body language of Washington’s defense, which spent long stretches chasing shifts and motion before the snap and then dealing with play-action after it.

Defensively, Green Bay made Washington earn every inch. The plan was simple: discourage the vertical game, rally to the ball, and make Jayden Daniels live off patience. Defensive end Micah Parsons posted half a sack and three hurries, but his impact went beyond the box score. The constant squeeze forced Daniels to hitch, drift, and come off his first read. When Washington tried to manufacture explosives, the Packers’ safeties kept a lid on it.

The tackling was sound, and the angles were disciplined. Washington’s best moments came late, after the Packers had built a cushion. Until then, Green Bay’s defense won first down and dictated terms. As Parsons put it afterward, “We gave up some things that we didn’t want to, more points than what we wanted to, but we made them earn everything… No big plays, we made them earn everything, and that’s the good part.”

That’s how you frustrate a young quarterback on the road in prime time: squeeze explosives, win the rush lanes, and stay buttoned up on the perimeter. Green Bay did all of that.

Washington’s rough night: injuries, missed chances, and a long to-do list

For Washington, the film will sting. The Commanders came in 1-0 and riding the credibility of last season’s NFC title game run. They left with a 1-1 mark, a handful of injuries, and a reminder that this offense needs cleaner early-down answers against top-tier fronts.

The fourth quarter brought late touchdowns, but much of that production came after Green Bay had already tilted the game. Before that, Washington couldn’t find rhythm. Drive starts were poor, the run game rarely set favorable down-and-distance, and Daniels saw more color in his face than he’d like. When the script asked for patience, Green Bay’s zone discipline made every completion feel expensive.

The injuries only deepened the headache. Running back Austin Ekeler left in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a serious Achilles injury. Defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. was carted off in the second period with a quadriceps injury. Receiver Noah Brown and tight end John Bates exited with groin injuries. After the game, coach Dan Quinn declined to speculate, saying the team would use the weekend to assess where things stand.

Quinn’s calling card is defense, and that unit had bright snaps—an early bat-down here, a run stuff there—but not the sustained pressure needed to alter the math. The Packers chipped when they had to, got the ball out on time, and rarely allowed Washington to tee off. When Washington did generate a win up front, Love’s pocket management took the sting out of it.

Special teams didn’t help. Washington’s long-distance kicking remains a problem spot. Matt Gay was signed to steady a revolving door at the position, but the long-range numbers are going the wrong way: 1-for-3 from 50-plus this season and 4-for-12 from that distance since the start of last year. In a game where Washington spent three quarters chasing, those lost points loom large.

There’s also the bigger-picture concern: this offense needs a bread-and-butter answer when the first plan stalls. On Thursday, the quick game didn’t flip the field, the run didn’t bail out second-and-long, and explosive shots were largely off the table until late. Some of that is the opponent—Green Bay was keyed in—but some of it is structural. The Commanders will need a more reliable early-down menu and a way to generate easy yards for Daniels when the pass rush tightens.

Credit Green Bay’s back seven. They stayed square, tackled clean, and refused to give up the deep ball. The lack of freebies meant Washington had to string together eight, nine, ten-play drives to score. That’s hard to do at Lambeau, on a short week, against a defense that tackled as well as the Packers did.

Green Bay walks into a mini-bye at 2-0 with proof that its offense can function through injuries up front and that its defense can squeeze talented quarterbacks without giving up cheap explosives. It wasn’t flawless—there were flags they’ll want back and a few coverage snaps they’ll clean up—but the floor looked high. Beating a team with last year’s pedigree by two scores while calling it a “B game” performance is how you build January credibility in September.

Two subplots will carry into next week. First, the continued rise of Tucker Kraft. He’s moved from complement to featured option in a hurry, and his red-zone chemistry with Love is becoming a weekly theme. Second, the Packers’ protection plan without Zach Tom and Aaron Banks. It held up well on a short week. With extra rest now, Green Bay has a chance to reset the line and see how the depth stacks up against the next wave of pass rushers.

For Washington, the urgency is real. This was the first of five prime-time showcases on the schedule, and it didn’t look like a team ready for the spotlight. Cleaning up early-down offense, finding a reliable answer against simulated pressures, and settling the kicking situation are top of the list. The injury report will shape everything. If Ekeler’s injury is as serious as it looked, they’ll need to rethink how they generate yards after contact and easy catches for Daniels in the flat.

None of this erases what Washington did last year, but the margin for error in the NFC is thin. Thursday showed a gap between a team that is already in its rhythm and a team still searching for one.

Total yardage: Packers 406, Commanders 230.
First quarter yardage for Washington: 11.
Quarterbacks: Jordan Love 19-of-31 with touchdowns to Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft; Jayden Daniels pressured throughout.
Pass rush: Micah Parsons logged 0.5 sack and three hurries, helping set the tone.
Scoring flow: Washington didn’t reach the end zone until the fourth quarter, when it found two late touchdowns.
Records: Green Bay 2-0, Washington 1-1.
Kicking note: Matt Gay is 1-for-3 from 50-plus this year and 4-for-12 from that range since the start of last season.

It was the kind of night coaches love because it proves the process works. Green Bay stacked good downs, tilted the field, protected the ball, and leaned on a defense that refuses to be beaten over the top. Washington has talent, but this was a lesson in sequencing, discipline, and depth—areas the Packers owned from kickoff to the final kneel-down.