Green Bay set the tone early — and never gave it back

Two 90-plus-yard marches. A tight end’s first 100-yard day. A quarterback who hasn’t thrown a pick in nine straight starts. That’s the snapshot from Lambeau, where the Packers controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock in a 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football, pushing Green Bay to 2-0 and nudging Washington to 1-1.

Washington’s defense bent at the worst times, and the offense couldn’t find steady rhythm until late. Jayden Daniels showed toughness and kept it competitive in the fourth quarter, but the climb was steep once Green Bay grabbed a 7-0 lead and refused to let go. Jordan Love looked fully in command, throwing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, and he spread the ball with purpose. Tight end Tucker Kraft produced a career-best 124 yards on six grabs, plus a score, exploiting space Washington didn’t close quickly enough. The Packers’ insistence on balance — patiently mixing runs with play-action and quick throws — was the backbone of those two backbreaking long drives.

On the other side, Washington managed only three points in its first seven possessions. That’s the game right there. Against a defense that has added Micah Parsons and is playing fast and physical, empty early drives hand the opponent field position, confidence, and control of tempo. By the time Washington adjusted, the Packers had already dictated the script.

Three fixable keys that would have changed the result

Washington didn’t need miracles at Lambeau. It needed steadier execution in three clear areas.

• 1) Offensive consistency from the opening kick — The early drought was costly. Long down-and-distance, stalled first downs, and too few easy completions put Washington behind the chains. The plan has to manufacture rhythm throws for Daniels on the first couple of series: quick-game, defined reads, and designed movement to cut the pass rush angle. When the defense is pinning its ears back — and Green Bay was — keep it honest with more early-down variety: RPOs, speed motion, and under-center play-action to influence second-level defenders. Even a couple of early first downs flip field position and change the emotional temperature of the game.

• 2) Choking off explosive plays — especially to tight ends — Kraft’s breakout wasn’t a fluke; it was a byproduct of how Green Bay stressed Washington’s rules. The Packers used layered concepts to put linebackers and safeties in conflict, then sprinkled in tempo to prevent substitutions. When a tight end is hurting you on seams and crossers, you have to adjust leverage and change the picture: more bracket looks, contact at the line, and varied post-snap rotations to muddy Love’s reads. Middle-of-the-field integrity matters most against a quarterback on a clean streak like Love’s — he protected the ball, took what was there, and Washington never forced him into the high-risk throws.

• 3) Finish in the red zone and seize momentum plays — Washington cut it to a one-score game in the fourth quarter but couldn’t land the final punch. That’s where details swing outcomes: play-clock management, motion timing, spacing in the low red zone, and sequencing run-pass options so the defense can’t sit on tendencies. When you spend three quarters climbing uphill, you have to cash in late trips with touchdowns, not field goals or empty possessions. The Packers were simply more clinical in the money areas.

Those pillars were visible all night. Green Bay’s front compressed the pocket and forced Daniels to hurry through progressions. Even without gaudy sack totals, pressure changes everything — route depths shorten, checkdowns come quicker, and shot plays get shelved. Washington needed a few more designed keepers and screen variations early to punish Green Bay’s aggressiveness and buy time for longer-developing concepts later.

Defensively, Washington had moments — a couple of timely stops kept the score within reach — but the body blows added up. The Packers stayed ahead of schedule on first down, which kept Washington from unleashing its exotic looks in obvious passing situations. When an offense strings together two drives of 90-plus yards, that’s a symptom of missed tackles, lost leverage, or both. Washington’s pursuit angles were occasionally off, and the tackling wasn’t crisp enough to turn 12-yard gains into six. Small margins, big consequences.

Field position told a quiet story, too. Early three-and-outs gave the Packers short fields, and even when Washington’s defense held, the offense restarted in tough territory. Special teams didn’t have a disaster, but it didn’t produce a spark either. In road games like Lambeau, you need one hidden-yardage play — a pin inside the 10, a broken return, or a drawn penalty on a fair catch — to tilt the math.

Give Green Bay credit for the game plan and execution. Love took the throws the coverage allowed, never forced the ball, and kept his no-interception streak intact. Kraft found creases and punished late rotations. The Packers’ coaching leaned into balance, and the offensive line held up across key downs. Defensively, the Parsons effect showed even when he wasn’t touching the quarterback — protections slid his way, which let others win one-on-one. That’s exactly how a good unit squeezes a young offense.

Washington still had a window in the fourth quarter, which says something about the team’s resolve. Daniels kept standing in, moved the pocket when he could, and delivered a few tight-window throws to extend life. There’s enough there to build on. The tweaks are clear and doable: get on schedule faster, protect the middle against tight end-heavy plans, and clean up red-zone sequencing. Do those things, and this game looks very different — even at Lambeau, even against a defense playing as fast as Green Bay’s.

For Washington, Week 2 becomes a tape you keep handy. It’s a guide to how teams will attack: force long fields, dare the offense to grind, and target the seams until you take them away. The fixes don’t require a reinvention. They require sharper early scripts, a couple of well-timed shot plays, and a tighter plan for handling athletic tight ends who can stress zone rules. That’s the playbook to flip a nine-point loss into a road win the next time this matchup rolls around.