The Green Bay Packers faced the New York Jets in Week 2 and ended a 6-game losing streak going back to last season. The Packers erased a double-digit lead to win 20-17 in overtime. It was an ugly win where the offense struggled throughout. Luckily for Green Bay, the defense and special teams picked up the slack. The team also suffered some unfortunate injuries, including Jayden Reed, Aaron Banks, and Zach Bako-Bewele, the latter of which could be a season-ender.
For the second week in a row, head coach Matt LaFleur finds himself on the negative side of things despite the Packers getting a win this week. LaFleur’s bread and butter is on the offensive side of the ball, and this week the offense was brutal. The unit also failed to capitalize on opportunities provided by the defense as well as the special teams.
The offense posted 199 total yards on 50 plays, which was 22 fewer plays than the Jets, despite having the same number of drives. Green Bay couldn’t get anything going running or passing the ball, averaging 3.5 yards per run attempt and 4.3 per pass. The team also went 1-9 on third down in Week 2. It should be noted that the team did look much better while erasing the 10-point deficit, which LaFleur deserves credit for, but the first three quarters weren’t pretty.
Skyy Moore was, without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons why the Green Bay Packers won this game. He completely outgained the offense by himself with his return yards. Moore had 208 total return yards on special teams while the offense had the aforementioned 199. Including a 63-yard punt return that unfortunately only ended in a field goal.
When Moore was signed this offseason, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would even make the team. Two weeks into the season, it’s clear that the team views him as a special teams ace who can contribute to the team. Moore can be explosive with the ball in his hands and look for his role to possibly get bigger as a gadget player on offense.
Two weeks into the 2026 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers offensive line is not a particularly good unit. The line play wasn’t quite as bad as it was in Week 1, but it suffered some crucial injuries. The team’s best lineman by a wide margin, Zach Bako-Bewele, went down with an injury, and the rest of his season could be in jeopardy.
The Packers suffered two other losses across the line in Aaron Banks and Donovan Jennings. The Jennings injury is what allowed rookie Jager Burton to come in, and he actually played well down the stretch. He started a little rough but picked it up toward the end, finishing with a PFF grade of 51; while not great, he also didn’t give up a single pressure. The Aaron Banks injury is yet more evidence that he just can’t stay on the field and that contract is starting to look worse by the week.
Two players on the Packers’ defense were huge contributors to the win against the Jets. The first of which was safety Javon Bullard. Bullard was a second-round pick in 2024 and has consistently improved each year.
Through two games in 2026, he looks to have taken a legitimate step toward becoming one of the league’s best nickel defenders. On Sunday, he was all over the field making plays for Green Bay. He finished with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass deflections.
While technically Bullard is a backup safety, he has been the starting nickel corner for the last two seasons. Entering his third year, his level of play through two weeks has set him up nicely for a year-three breakout. He’ll need it if he’s looking for that ever-so-important second contract.
This one may seem a little harsh considering MarShawn Lloyd did score the first touchdown of his NFL career on Sunday. Despite finding the end zone, he was clearly out-rushed by late preseason acquisition Kaleb Johnson. With Lloyd’s career being plagued by injuries throughout his first two seasons, the Packers look to be taking their time with their 2024 third-round pick.
On paper, it isn’t a bad move, but at some point the team has to ease up on the reins and let the former Trojan loose. Lloyd needs to show he can play against NFL competition, and he hasn’t been given much of an opportunity so far in 2026. He received fewer carries than Johnson while also rushing for fewer yards and a 3.3 average yards per carry, almost a full yard less than Johnson. The eye test also didn’t help Lloyd’s case because he looked less impressive than his counterpart.
Lukas Van Ness is the second player who was a huge part of the Packers’ success on defense. He followed an impressive Week 1 with what may have been his best game as a pro. Van Ness may have been the MVP of this game. 10 total tackles, 3 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, and hitting the QB another 4 times. He was fantastic in this game and deserves all the praise he’s received.
What really makes this impressive is the fact that he is doing this without All-Pro Micah Parsons. Once Parsons does return, it will be very interesting to see what kind of opportunities that opens up for Van Ness once Parsons is the focus of the opposing team. This was a crucial year for Van Ness; his fifth-year option was picked up by Green Bay in the offseason, and if he keeps up this level of play, the Packers will have no choice but to open the checkbook for him.
It was an ugly win for the Packers but a win nonetheless. The offense did not look great for most of the game, but luckily the defense and special teams were fantastic and were the catalyst for this win. Coming into the season with two new coordinators, Cam Achord and Jonathan Gannon opened up questions for the team, but the early return has been a huge positive so far. The Packers have an upcoming Thursday night game against the Atlanta Falcons, and the schedule continues to be soft, with an 0-2 Buccaneers team to follow that.
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