The Green Bay Packers escaped with a 20-17 overtime win over the New York Jets, but the victory came with a cost that could linger well beyond one afternoon.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed went down on the second play with a neck injury and was carted off. One snap later, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele exited with a knee injury. If those absences stretch out, Green Bay suddenly has two major holes to fill, and the one on the offensive line looks like the more dangerous problem.
At receiver, the Packers can at least absorb the loss. Matthew Golden and Christian Watson give them options, and that room looks like a strength right now.
Up front is a different story. If Bako-Bewele is sidelined for an extended stretch, the Packers are looking at Anthony Belton as the next man in line, and that is a shaky place to be.
Head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t sound optimistic after the game about Bako-Bewele’s outlook, saying he could be out for a long time. That would put Belton in the spotlight immediately.
Belton, a second-round pick in 2024, has not locked down a steady starting job. He’s bounced between tackle and guard, entered the season expected to start at right guard, and then lost that spot to Jacob Monk. Now, with the swing tackle role suddenly more important, he may be asked to hold down right tackle if Bako-Bewele is unavailable for the rest of the year.
That’s a problem for Green Bay. Belton has played 60 offensive snaps this season, all at right tackle, and has allowed three total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. The Packers also don’t have many obvious alternatives unless they want to give John Williams a shot.
That’s why Brian Gutekunst should be on the phone with Jacksonville about Walker Little.
Little started for the Jaguars last year before being benched in 2025, but he has shown enough to merit attention. He can play both tackle spots, and that flexibility would matter in Green Bay, especially on the right side. Jacksonville had trade interest around him in the offseason but held onto him as insurance while Cole Van Lanen recovered from a knee injury suffered in 2025.
Now that Van Lanen is healthy, the Jaguars could be more open to moving Little. The 2021 second-round pick carries a base salary of $11 million in 2026 and $12 million the year after, which is not cheap but also not out of reach for a team that needs help badly.
Little’s 2025 season wasn’t spotless - he allowed nine sacks, per PFF - but that came after a much steadier stretch. Over his previous 1,128 pass-blocking snaps across four seasons, he had given up just eight sacks.
The price would have to make sense, too. A conditional fourth-round pick that could become a third based on playing time or other factors would be a fair place to start for a plug-and-play tackle.
The Packers aren’t at the panic button yet, but the line got thin fast. If they want to keep the offense from sliding into bigger trouble, a veteran like Little is the kind of move they need to at least consider.
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 🡒]