The Green Bay Packers didn’t exactly win with style on Sunday. They won with grit, field position, and a defense that kept showing up when the offense couldn’t get out of its own way.
Green Bay outlasted the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime in a game that was every bit as messy as the final score suggests. The penalty count alone told the story: the Packers were flagged 14 times for 133 yards, while the Jets drew 13 accepted penalties for 156 yards.
At one point, Green Bay had piled up more penalty yards than offensive yards. Still, the Packers found enough late, including 13 unanswered points, to steal it in overtime.
As the season rolls on, we’re handing out game balls to the Packers’ top performers. This time, the list is all defense and special teams. Nobody on offense made the cut after a rough afternoon on that side of the ball.
Javon Bullard earned a spot despite an early taunting penalty that gave the Jets fresh life. He had already broken up the pass on that play, and he added another deflection later.
Bullard finished with seven total tackles, including two for loss, and was constantly around the football. His mistake was there, but so was his impact.
Skyy Moore gave Green Bay a real spark in the return game. He averaged 23 yards per punt return and ripped off a 63-yard return that set up the game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter. He’s still leaving too many punts to bounce, but when he does get the ball in his hands, he looks dangerous.
Lukas Van Ness may have delivered his best game as a pro. With the Packers still looking for a steady pass rush until Micah Parsons returns, Van Ness stepped in and caused problems all afternoon.
He tied for the team lead with ten total tackles, added three for loss, and finished with 1.5 sacks. He was everywhere and seemed to blow up the Jets’ plans from the start.
Daniel Whelan kept flipping the field for Green Bay. He had six punts, including a 66-yarder, and placed three inside the 20. There was a second shank in as many weeks, but the overall performance was strong enough to make him one of the day’s key special teams weapons.
Evan Williams rounded out the list after another busy outing at safety. With Xaiver McKinney locked in at deep safety, Williams had the freedom to move around, and he made the most of it.
He posted 10 total tackles and broke up two passes. At one point, the Jets even stopped running in his direction.
In Other News...
Packers Fans Have Another Reason To Be Furious With NFL Officiating
Week 2 brought another round of frustration for Packers fans, and not just because of the usual game-day complaints. Meghan Payton publicly took aim at the NFLs officiating standards after a series of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties across the league, a conversation that included flags on Packers safety Javon Bullard as well as Saints receiver Chris Olave.
The bigger issue is the direction the league has taken this season, with the Competition Committee putting taunting and illegal celebrations near the top of its enforcement list. Officials and league representatives have already laid out the reasoning behind the tighter standard, but the more aggressively it is applied, the more it is likely to keep drawing grumbles from teams and fans who feel the games are getting too tightly policed. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Got Caught In Foxs Most Infuriating Broadcast Mess
Fox Sports turned Week 2 into a headache for viewers across the NFL, and Packers fans had their own moment of broadcast frustration during the overtime stretch of the Packers-Jets game. Multiple early games were affected when the audio feeds did not match the action on screen, leaving viewers listening to commentary that had nothing to do with the game they were watching, while Fox also briefly lost its scorebug during Green Bays overtime finish.
The network got the audio problem sorted out before the primetime Cowboys-Commanders matchup, but the damage had already been done for anyone trying to follow the early slate. For Packers fans, it was one more layer of annoyance on a day when the game itself was already moving into tense territory, and the broadcast breakdown made an already chaotic afternoon feel even messier. [Read more 🡒]
Trey Smack Is Already Changing A Packers Conversation Fans Dreaded
The Packers overtime win over the Jets brought a welcome dose of stability to a spot that has too often been a source of anxiety in Green Bay. Rookie kicker Trey Smack handled the moment with a game-winning field goal, and through the first two weeks of the season he has made all five of his attempts, quickly giving the team something it did not have much of last year: confidence when the game is on the line.
After the playoff frustration that lingered through the offseason, Smacks early showing has changed the tone around the kicking job in a hurry. He has already shown range and the kind of mental toughness the Packers were hoping to find, while Jordan Love and the offense did their part in getting the team into position for the finish. For now, Green Bay has a new reason to feel better about one of its most nerve-wracking situations. [Read more 🡒]