Sean Rhyan didn’t bother softening the message.
With the Green Bay Packers trying to clean up the mess from a rough Week 1 loss, their starting center laid out the assignment in plain terms ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets: “F****** protect J-Love. F****** move the ball,” Rhyan said during his media availability.
That urgency comes after Green Bay’s season opener turned into a nightmare up front. The Packers dropped a 39-22 decision to the Minnesota Vikings, and the offensive line was under siege most of the afternoon. Jordan Love was sacked four times, and Green Bay’s pass protection graded out at a league low 9 percent pass block win rate.
Love still put up eye-catching numbers in the loss, finishing 21 of 42 for 387 yards and two touchdowns. But the pressure kept piling up, and the game slipped away in the fourth quarter. A strip sack and a tipped pass that became an interception shut the door on Green Bay’s comeback attempt and extended the team’s losing streak to six games, including last season’s playoff loss.
Now the Packers are staring at another tough test. The Jets come in off a 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans and bring a strong defensive line into the matchup. Their pass rush is set to challenge Green Bay’s protection again, while offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has already indicated the Packers may shuffle things along the line as they search for the right starting combination.
For Green Bay, the task is simple even if the fix isn’t. Rhyan made the expectation clear: keep Love upright and get the offense moving. The Packers can’t afford much more drift if they want to avoid falling to 0-2 and keep the losing streak from growing any longer.
In Other News...
Jordan Love Debate Is Getting Harder For Packers Fans To Win
The Jordan Love conversation keeps circling back every time Packers fans think theyve got a firm argument in hand. Love has the better overall numbers, and from Green Bays perspective that should be enough to quiet some of the noise around the comparison with Chicagos Caleb Williams, especially when the debate keeps tilting toward the Bears quarterback despite the statistical edge.
Williams has helped himself by coming through in key moments, which is part of why the discussion has stayed alive instead of fading away. Love will have chances to answer in the weeks ahead, with Green Bay set to face the Jets and Falcons, and the next head-to-head meeting with Williams looming as the kind of stage that could finally shift the tone of the debate for Packers fans. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Offense May Be Showing Matt LaFleur's Real 2026 Plan
The Packers Week 1 offensive look offered a useful clue about where Matt LaFleur may want to take this group next. Green Bay leaned on multi-tight end formations more often than the NFL average, a notable wrinkle for an offense that has spent recent years balancing speed, spacing and versatility. The personnel moves make the picture even more interesting, with the club adding veteran tight end Jonnu Smith and bringing in blocking tight end Mark Redman to give the scheme more options.
Taken together, the formation usage and the roster decisions suggest this is more than a one-game adjustment. LaFleur has long shown he is willing to reshape the offense around his personnel, and the early signs point toward a heavier tight end emphasis becoming part of the long-term plan. If that trend holds, it could be one of the clearest hints yet about what Green Bay wants its offense to look like heading into the 2026 season. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans May Remember No. 73 For More Than Steady Line Play
Before the Packers got a steady run of big-bodied linemen associated with No. 73, Daryn Colledge made the number feel familiar in Green Bay. Drafted in the second round in 2006, he settled in as a reliable offensive guard over five seasons and became part of the group that helped bring home Super Bowl 45, the kind of rsum that sticks with fans long after the jersey comes off.
No. 73 has belonged to other Packers over the years, but Colledge is the name most people would circle first when looking back through the numbers history. His career path and football roots helped make him more than just another lineman in the rotation, and for Green Bay followers, the number still carries a little extra weight because of what he represented during that stretch. [Read more 🡒]