Packers vs. Commanders score: Jordan Love, Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft shine, lead Green Bay to statement win

Green Bay’s victory was more decisive than the final score indicates. The Packers never trailed, took an early 14-0 lead and never lost their control on the game. 

Jordan Love was great, throwing for 292 yards and two touchdowns despite losing Jayden Reed to a shoulder injury in the first quarter. He was complemented by Josh Jacobs (23 carries, 84 yards and a TD) and Tucker Kraft, who had a career night with 124 yards and a TD on six catches. 

But really, the story of the night was the Packers’ defense, which held the Commanders to 230 yards, 15 first downs and 5 of 16 efficiency on third down. They made Washington’s running game a non-factor as the road team finished with just 51 yards on 19 carries. 

It’s early, but the 2-0 Packers have made a strong case to be considered the NFL’s best team. 

Washington is showing some fight in this one, getting a late touchdown to make it a 27-18 game with 2:53 left. The Packers recover the onside kick, though, giving them the ball near midfield. Commanders only have one time out left with the two minute warning upcoming. 

The Commanders’ touchdown was a 10-yard strike from Daniels to Samuel, his first score as a Commander. 

Commanders veteran RB Austin Ekeler is helped off the field after suffering a non-contact Achilles injury while running a pass route.

Washington turns it over on downs, and Green Bay tackde a field goal onto their lead despite only gaining two yards on their ensuing drive. It’s now 27-10 Packers with a little under half a quarter remaining. 

At halftime, Commanders coach Dan Quinn said that his team needed to improve on third down if they were going to win this game. To this point, the Commanders’ offense is 4 and 14 on third down and 1-2 on fourth down. The defense has been OK on third down (allowing Green Bay to convert on 5 of its 11 third down attempts), but the damage has already been done. 

To me, the game’s most revealing statistic is Washington needed about 55 minutes of game time to get into the red zone. 

Tucker Kraft is having a career night. The Packers’ tight end has six catches for 124 yards that includes his wide-open, eight-yard TD catch that stretches Green Bay’s lead to 24-10 with 8:57 left. The score capped off a nine-play, 65-yard drive that took 4:48 off the clock. 

The crazy part of that drive was that the Commanders had to know that Love was going to keep feeding his tight ends, and they still couldn’t stop it. Part of the issue was that the Packers kept Washington off balance with their running game that included carries by wideouts Savion Williams and Matthew Golden. 

Green Bay has the NFL’s deepest offensive skillset and it’s not really close. 

The Commanders knew it was coming, but they still couldn’t stop a Love pass to a tight end. The latest one — an eight-yard completion to Kraft — gave the Packers a fresh set of downs with 11 minutes left. Kraft leads both teams with 116 yards on five catches, the most receiving yards by a Green Bay tight end in 10 years. 

Ageless wonder Zach Ertz scores the Commanders’ first TD of the night on a 20-yard catch-and-carry with 13:45 left. The score capped off an 11-play, 50-yard drive. 

Ertz’s score makes GB’s upcoming drive a pivotal one. The Packers at the least need to pick up a first down or two to force WSH to do something they haven’t done tonight: move the ball the length of the field. Rest assured the Commanders will be paying extra attention to GB’s tight ends on this drive. 

Washington converts on two fourth downs to keep its drive drive as the third quarter expires. The second conversion was b/c of a holding call against CB Nate Hobbs. 

GB scored the quarter’s only points on a field goal that extended its lead to 17-3. 

The Packers’ success on defense has been their ability to make WSH one dimensional while not allowing Daniels to make any big plays downfield. Daniels has just 88 yards on 14 of 24 passing. Conversely, Jordan Love already has 265 yards on 16 of 25 passing. 

Packers increase their lead to 17-3 with 6:37 left in the third, but it’s GB’s first red zone trip that didn’t end with a touchdown. GB got pass-happy in the red zone and the Commanders forced Love into a pair of throwaways after successfully applying pressure on Love. 

One of the strengths of the Packers’ offense was on display on that drive, and that’s their versatility and depth at the skill positions. On that drive, the Packers’ TE’s stepped up, with Musgrave catching two passes for 32 yards and Tucker Kraft making a 19-yard grab. 

Matt Gay misses another FG, this one from 52 yards, as Washington misses a change to cut into its 11-point deficit. Gay’s FG was made more difficult after Edgerrin Cooper and Micah Parsons combined to sack Daniels on third down. Parsons has 1.5 sacks in six quarters with the Packers. 

Score: Packers 14, Commanders 3
Total yards: Packers, 274-82
First downs: Packers, 13-4 
Third down: Packers 3-6, Commanders 2-7
Red zone: Packers 2-2, Commanders 0-0
TOP: Packers, 17:50

Love: 13-18, 214 yards, TD, 1 sack
Daniels: 9-15, 49 yards, 1 sack
Jacobs: 12 carries, 42 yards, TD 
Commanders: 34 yards on 9 carries
Packers: 70 yards on 15 carries
Kraft: 3 catches, 89 yards 
McLaurin: 2 catches, 18 yards 
Samuel: 3 catches, 13 yards 

Just moments after Gay missed a 58-yard FG, GB’s Brandon McManus’ 48-yard FG attempt clanked off a crossbar, keeping the score 14-3 Packers at intermission. 

The play of the game so is Malik Heath’s incredible toe tap. The officials initially ruled that Heath did not get both feet inbounds, but the ruling was overturned after a successful GB challenge. The play helped set up Jacobs’ touchdown run that extended GB’s lead to 14-0. 

Matt Gay’s 51-yard FG has trimmed the Commanders’ deficit to 14-3 with 4:27 to go until halftime. Washington somewhat took advantage of a short field as they went 37 yards in nine plays. 

It was a start, but the Commanders’ offense wasn’t terribly impressive on that drive. They have yet to establish the run, and the Packers have been able to put pressure on Jayden Daniels with just four rushers. That’s allowed GB’s secondary to play back while minimizing what Daniels has been able to do downfield. 

GB has now had 96- and 92-yard scoring drives in the first half. The Packers’ second TD was courtesy of Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard TD run midway through the second quarter. 

Jacobs hasn’t broken free yet, but GB has stayed committed to having a balanced attacked, and it paid dividends at the end of that drive. 

Unfortunately, it looks like a serious injury just occurred no the PAT. Commanders veteran DL Deatrich Wise is getting medical attention on the field after sustaining a right leg injury. Obviously we don’t know the severity of the injury yet, but it doesn’t look good. 

Packers dominated the first 15 minutes of this game. They out-gained Washington 151-11, had seven first downs to Washington’s 0, and had the ball for 10:10. The Commanders ran just six plays during the first quarter. 

The score could have been worse if not for Trey Amos’ PBU on Love’s fourth down pass on the game’s first drive. 

Love hits Romeo Doubs for a five-yard strike that gives GB a 7-0 lead with 4:33 left in the third. Great play design by the Packers, who employed a heavy TE set which led to Washington selling out for the run. In hindsight, the Commanders should have known better given GB’s lack of success on the ground so far. 

Love is off to a great start, with 118 yards and a TD on 7 of 10 passing. 

Along with Jayden Reed (who is questionable to return with a shoulder), TE Tucker Kraft is now being evaluated for a possible injury. Kraft may have gotten hurt during a 14-yard run by Love on GB’s second drive. 

GB’s offense is going to be in serious trouble if it continues losing players. They’re already down two starting offensive linemen tonight, which is impacting their ability to run the ball. 

Green Bay goes for it on fourth-and-three, but Love’s deep pass to the end zone for rookie Matthew Golden was broken up by fellow rookie Trey Amos. Great play by Amos, who undercut the route on a throw that may have been slightly under thrown. 

Packers also may have sustained a possible injury to WR Jayden Reed, who was favoring his right arm as he left the field. 

Huge win on that drive for the Commanders’ defense. A big key to their success was containing Jacobs and forcing GB’s offense to be one-dimensional. 

Two completions by Jordan Love and a holding call on Washington has allowed Green Bay to cross midfield on the game’s first drive. Both of Love’s completions were to Dontayvion Wicks. 

Josh Jacobs has been held in check so far, getting just eight yards on his first three carries. 

The Packers will be without starting offensive linemen Zach Tom (oblique) and Aaron Banks (ankle) for tonight’s game. Micah Parsons, who was listed as questionable due to his back, is officially active, along with CB Nate Hobbs (knee). 

Rookie Anthony Belton is in line to replace Tom at RT, while Donovan Jennings will replace Banks at LG. Belton got his first NFL regular season snaps last week against the Lions. Jennings, who is in his second season with the Packers, has never played in a regular season game. 

Green Bay Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs has racked up a rushing touchdown in nine straight games, which is the longest streak in Packers history. It’s also tied for the fourth-longest streak by any player in the 21st century. 

Most Consecutive Games with Rush TD

Since 2000

                                                  Consecutive Games with Rush TD

2004-05 LaDainian Tomlinson   18

2021    Jonathan Taylor       11

2002    Priest Holmes         11

2024-25 Josh Jacobs           9 <<

2023    Kyren Williams         9

2022    Ezekiel Elliott             9

2005    Shaun Alexander       9

>> Active streak

Micah Parsons faced Commanders 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels twice while with the Dallas Cowboys last season. Parsons was nuisance for Daniels last season: he amassed seven quarterback pressures and four-and-a-half sacks in those meetings. 

That production made Parsons the only player in the NFL to sack Daniels more than twice last season.   

Micah Parsons vs Commanders Last Season

            Week 12   Week 18

Tackles     8           4

Sacks       2.0         2.5

Pressures   3          4

Green Bay has allowed 250 or fewer total yards in four of their last five games. Going back a little further, the Packers are allowing an average of 67.4 rushing yards per game in their last eight games. That’s the fewest the Packers have allowed in an eight-game span since the 1995, 1996 seasons. The 1995 Packers lost in the NFC title game to the eventual Super Bowl champ Dallas Cowboys, and the 1996 Packers won the Super Bowl. 

The last time Washington won at Lambeau Field was all the way back in 1986 when the starting quarterback was Jay Schroeder. The franchise’s last road win at the Packers was in 1988 when Green Bay played some of their home games at Milwaukee County Stadium. Overall, Washington is on a six-game losing streak in road games at the Packers.