They say life comes at you fast, and nowhere is that truer than in the NFL, where the Green Bay Packers have barely had time to bask in the glow of a dominant performance against their division rivals on Sunday.
With a Week 2 Thursday night game on the schedule at Lambeau, they were forced to quickly turn their attention to the Washington Commanders, last year’s surprise NFC title game entry, and their mercurial young QB Jayden Daniels.
That opening-week win has vaulted the Pack to the top of the power rankings and cut their Super Bowl odds to around 8:1, but they will need to put all that noise behind them and follow it up with another statement against a strong NFC contender.
What a contrast in how these teams have been constructed. The Packers again have the youngest roster in the league, while the Commanders have the oldest. Their team is littered with aging veterans like Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, and Zach Ertz.
Green Bay is the more banged-up squad, with Bo Melton and Brenton Cox, Jr. already ruled out and five guys listed as questionable. It sounds like a long shot for Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, which means the team will likely turn to Josh Morgan at left guard and Darian Kinnard at right tackle. Whether that would alter Matt LaFleur’s offensive game plan remains to be seen, but losing 40% of your offensive line is never ideal — especially if someone else goes down tonight.
I expect the offense still to have its way with Dan Quinn’s defense — Matt LaFleur has shredded it in three previous meetings. After holding the pitiful New York Giants to six points last week, the Washington defense got all the roses. Still, it’s stepping up in class against a Packers offense that will pound the rock with Josh Jacobs and unleash Jordan Love to take deep shots against a leaky secondary. Russ Wilson and Tyrone Tracy won’t be on the field tonight.
The real show will be when Jayden Daniels has the ball, matched up against Jeff Hafley’s fast, physical, emerging defense. The Packers will do everything they can to force Daniels to stay in the pocket, but if he escapes, they now have the thoroughbreds to deal with him in space. Micah Parsons will likely be on a similar pitch count as last week, but you know he’ll be in his coaches’ ears to play more. Last year, he sacked Daniels four-and-a-half times in his two games against him.
Speaking of that aging roster, they’ll rely on Austin Ekeler and Deebo Samuel, both on the ground and through the air — Samuel had a strong debut last week. The Pack’s aggressive pass rush must be wary of screens and quick, short routes to those guys. Training camp holdout Terry McLaurin is still working his way into shape and wasn’t much of a factor last week. Packers corner Nate Hobbs is listed as questionable and appears close to making his debut. If he plays, it will be interesting to see where Hafley deploys him. Carrington Valentine was solid on the outside last week. Would he replace Javon Bullard in the slot?
Rookie running back sensation Jacory Croskey-Merritt, AKA Bill, burst onto the scene with 82 yards on 10 carries against the Giants. Green Bay’s run defense was stout last week, but was that largely due to the weak interior of the Detroit Lions’ line? We’ll get more answers tonight.
With this game falling on September 11, 24 years after that horrific day, it takes us back to that first primetime game following the tragedy, when Washington came to Lambeau. Packer linebacker and Air Force Academy graduate Chris Gizzi led the team out, carrying the American flag, and as he tells it, he felt the ground shaking. Watch the video today — I dare you not to get goosebumps.
24 years ago. Chris Gizzi. Legend. pic.twitter.com/DhKBVYzgko
— Kyle Malzhan (@KyleMalzhan) September 11, 2025
The Packers will surely have something planned to commemorate the somber anniversary tonight, and then it will be time for what should be a competitive, compelling matchup. Will Daniels take some chances deep against the ball-hawking Xavier McKinney? On the flip side, will Love test veteran corner Marshon Lattimore, who tends to take chances at this point in his career?
Turnovers are always the great equalizer, but the Packers have the more explosive offense, the far more talented defense, and, of course, the homefield advantage. Barring additional injuries on the offensive line, it’s hard to see them slipping up under the lights at Lambeau.
Packers 23
Commanders 16