The Green Bay Packers kept themselves atop the NFC North with a resounding win against 2024 NFC runners up, the Washington Commanders, on Thursday night.
Although the 27-18 final score does not necessarily imply a hugely emphatic victory, the game never really seemed in doubt for the now 2-0 Packers, who now get a 10-day break before their Week 3 bout against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
Whilst the defense was once again the first thing on many people’s minds, having restricted Jayden Daniels and the Commanders rushing offense to just 54 yards on the ground, with all three of Austin Ekeler, Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt and Daniels himself managing just 17 yards apiece running the ball, Jordan Love once again showed his capabilities as a passer.
Love went 19/31 for 292 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 12 yards rushing, as the team demonstrated why they are viewed as one of the prime contenders in the NFC this season.
And safety, Evan Williams, had some words to say about Love’s performance, speaking to Kay Adams of ‘Up and Adams’ on Friday morning. Specifically, an impressive, tone-setting 14 yard run by Love on 3rd and 9, in which he lowered his shoulder to make contact with rookie cornerback, Trey Amos, to get a first down at the Commanders’ 5-yard line.
Jordan Love Told To ‘Relax’ After Aggressive 1st Down Run
https://x.com/UpAndAdamsShow/status/1966523445984030830
“Man he’s gotta relax,” Williams said about his quarterback.
“I be scared whenever he tucking that ball and running downfield, but boy – no [opposing] DB wants to see a man that grown, running that fast lowering that shoulder. You see your captain obviously do something like that – it’s electric for the team.”
Williams stressed that whilst the rest of the team didn’t want Love to make an aggressive play like that again, for fear that he may hurt himself – it got the defense fired up.
“We were on the sidelines – I think everybody stood up at the same time just kind of looking at each other like, ‘OK, don’t let him do that again, but that was pretty tight.’ That was huge for the team, huge for the game.”
Jordan Love Looking Good To Start The Season
It’s not like the past two games have been absolutely 100% perfect for Green Bay: the team conceded multiple big returns on special teams that set Washington up in excellent offensive position.
And Love himself missed a couple of big throws, including under-throwing the ultra-speedy rookie, Matthew Golden on a 33 yard near-touchdown, before then slightly overthrowing him, in what was almost a 92 yard touchdown the following quarter.
But overall, the former Utah State man has had an excellent start to the season, managing 480 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, with a completion rate of 66% in his first two games, all for a passer rating of 120.0 – the fourth highest in the league.
The one lingering concern for Green Bay on the offensive front – outside of right tackle, Zach Tom’s injury – is the fact that the Packers still seem to be lacking a true #1 receiver.
But after third year tight end, Tucker Kraft‘s dominant display to the tune of 6 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, worries on that front may have started to alleviate.
