'TNF' takeaways: Packers setting foundation for special season

The Green Bay Packers kicked off the NFL Week 2 schedule on Thursday night with a decisive 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders to improve to 2-0. Here are some key takeaways from their win.

Packers look like Super Bowl contenders

The Packers opened the season with back-to-back home games against playoff teams from the 2024 season, and they completely dominated and outclassed both of them. They followed up their Week 1 win over the Detroit Lions with a one-sided win against Washington that was never really competitive or as close as the nine-point scoreboard deficit would have you believe. 

It's a big statement by the Packers early in the season to so easily handle two playoff teams, and it sets the stage for them to be a bona fide Super Bowl contender in the NFC. 

Starting quarterback Jordan Love has been incredibly efficient through the first two games, already throwing for four touchdowns to zero interceptions, while averaging 8.5 and 9.4 yards per attempt in each of the first two games, respectively. The defense, bolstered by the addition of Micah Parsons, looks smothering and made easy work of both Jared Goff and Jayden Daniels and like it could be one of the best units in football. 

It's only two weeks, but it's hard to imagine any team leaving this weekend with a more impressive start than the Packers. All of the talent is there, they were already a playoff team a year ago and they have stars at the most important positions on the field. This could be the start of a huge season in Green Bay. 

Commanders hit hard by injuries

One of the big criticisms of Thursday night games is that it does not give players proper healing and recovery time from the week before, which could lead to more injuries. The Commanders experienced that in a big way on Thursday with an extensive list of players leaving the game with injuries including running back Austin Ekeler, wide receiver Noah Brown, defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., tight end John Bates and cornerback Jonathan Jones.

The most significant of those injuries, however, might belong to Ekeler, who was immediately ruled out of the game with an Achilles injury in the fourth quarter. Non-contact Achilles injuries are never a good sign. It is an even worse sign when the team immediately rules the player out of the game.