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The Green Bay Packers put on as dominant a performance as possible in Week 1 against the Lions. Jordan Love had his way in the pocket. The offense scored early. On the other side of the ball, the Packers pass rush made Jared Goff extremely uncomfortable. He racked up some yards due to the early deficit, but really Green Bay allowed the Lions nothing through the air and zilch on the ground. They found the end zone once, on a one-handed, barely-in-bounds grab from a rookie receiver as the Packers romped to a 27-13 win.
They “looked like a Super Bowl team,” said analyst Mina Kimes, but she wants to see them prove it in Week 2 versus the Commanders – a matchup she labeled “a true challenge” for Green Bay. Kimes elaborated, “Particularly the run defense, that’s the key that I’m so interested in.”
In that area, the Packers will have to shut down a robust Washington attack just like they did to the Lions on Sunday. If they can replicate that showing, well, it’s going to be a long year for opposing offenses.
Packers and Commanders share same strong suit on opposite sides of the ball
Kimes isn’t discounting the Packers. She called them Super Bowl contenders. Part of the equation in Green Bay’s cakewalk, though, was just how badly the Lions played. There is a caveat there, one Kimes acknowledged.
“Week 1, it’s hard to know sometimes how good are these teams without putting them in the proper context,” she said in an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. Context: Detroit looked lost without Ben Johnson and the offensive line was in shambles. The touted running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for just 44 yards on 20 carries.
Most likely, the Commanders will be better than that. Not only do they have Jayden Daniels’ dynamic legs at quarterback, rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt showed out in Washington’s Week 1 victory over the Giants. Granted, it was the Giants, but putting up 220 rushing yards on anyone, as the Commanders did last week, is impressive.
Croskey-Merritt carried 10 times for 82 yards, Daniels 11 rushes for 68. Austin Ekeleer is a change of pace option for passing downs and Deebo Samuel, who scored on a 19-yard scamper four days ago, is a Swiss-Army Knife for the Washington offense.
On the Packers side, they lost a strong run stopper in defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons trade. After Clark held down their defensive front for nine years, his absence is something that could take some getting used to. Of course, as Kimes observed, that had little effect on the field Sunday.
“The Packers’ run defense looked phenomenal against a Detroit team that obviously had one of the best rushing attacks in football last year. Held them to under 1.5 yards before contact per carry, which was 27th in the league. On the flip side, the Commanders were third in rushing yards before contact last week against New York. So this would be like a strength on strength matchup.”
In addition to pushing back the O-line and swarming Washington backs, the Packers will have to keep a close eye on Daniels as a runner, a weapon missing entirely from Detroit’s offense with Goff behind center.
“I think we’re going to learn a lot about both teams,” Kimes said. “But I’m really interested, is that Packers run defense as good as they looked Week 1. I think we’re going to find out tonight.”
More must-reads:
- NFL Draft intel: SEC WR's stock skyrockets after breakout performance
- Bengals add pair of QBs following injury to Joe Burrow
- The '450-passing yards, three touchdowns in a loss' quiz
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