Lukas Van Ness walked into Week 2 with something to prove, and he left the Packers’ overtime win over the Jets with the best game of his young career.
Green Bay needed every bit of it. In a 20-17 victory that went down to the wire, Van Ness was constantly around the football, helping set the tone for a defense that kept finding ways to slam the door. He finished tied for the team lead with 10 tackles, seven of them solo, and his impact showed up in the biggest moments.
The signature play came in overtime. Van Ness came through with a second-down sack that put Geno Smith and Co. behind the chains, and after the Jets couldn’t convert on third down, the Packers marched downfield and won it with the game-winning field goal.
The numbers behind the performance are just as loud. Next Gen Stats said, "Lukas Van Ness generated a career-high nine pressures against the Jets in Week 2, recording five in under 2.5 seconds, tied for the third-most by a Packers defender since 2020."
Van Ness also posted a 30% pressure rate and a get-off time of 0.70 seconds. That kind of burst showed up repeatedly, and it’s why he was so disruptive throughout the game.
Through two games this season, he already has 14 tackles. He had four against the Jets, which was his lowest total in a game this year, though that came with the backdrop of an injury scare the week before.
The pass-rush production is moving fast, too. Van Ness is already at 2.5 sacks, topping what he did in nine games last season. The source notes that he had 1.5 sacks in his 2025 campaign, and his career high remains four, set during his 2023 rookie season.
Van Ness, the Iowa graduate, played 17 games in both 2023 and 2024, but his production trended the wrong way last season. Still, he’s only 25, and the Packers would love to see him and Micah Parsons bring that kind of havoc together when Parsons returns.
For now, Green Bay just wants Van Ness healthy. He cleared concussion protocol only a day before the Jets game, which makes his performance even more impressive - and makes you wonder what he might have done if he’d been fully cleared earlier in the week.
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New York is planning to lean into the moment with a new White-out alternate uniform, while Green Bay will show up in its traditional home look on the road. It is the kind of setup that gives an early September game a little more texture, especially with TV and radio coverage in place and the usual matchup details drawing attention before the teams even take the field. [Read more 🡒]