Packers defense dominates Commanders

GREEN BAY – As the Green Bay Packers prepare for the Browns in Cleveland on Sept. 21, they’re basking in the afterglow of having just knocked off the two teams from last season’s NFC Championship game.

Following a Sept. 7 win over Detroit at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers — also a playoff team from a season ago — took down the up-and-coming Washington Commanders, 27-18, in a primetime game on Sept. 11, also in Green Bay.

“All in all, I thought we were in control of the football game for a majority of the game,” said Head Coach Matt LaFleur afterwards. “There were a lot of mistakes out there that we have got to clean up – between penalties, some miscues, but you’ve got to give credit to Washington. That’s a really good football team. Overall, I was impressed with our defense, the energy they’re playing with, getting a lot of pressure on a really good quarterback. It seemed like they were hitting him quite a bit.”

The Jeff Hafley-coordinated Packers defense recorded four total sacks on Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, including one in the third quarter by Rashan Gary, which tied him with Ezra Johnson for seventh all-time in team annals, with 41.5.

“I just love our mindset, especially on a short week,” Gary told the Press Times after the game. “First off, the coaches did a hell of a job getting us prepared, getting us ready, understanding where the offense wanted to attack us, understanding where we had to be strong at and us as players just communicating, being on the same page, finding a way to get off the field throughout the game.”

“Defense wins championships,” said edge rusher Micah Parsons in the locker room after the win over Washington. “You give us 20 points, we should be able to win that game.”

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Parsons recorded a team-high eight pressures in 37 pass rushes on Commanders’ quarterback Jayden Daniels, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.  

“Honestly, I don’t think he gets rattled,” Parsons said of Daniels. “I mean, he’s down two possessions in Lambeau and he goes down there and scores, so I’m proud of the kid that he stayed poised. That’s going to be a great quarterback for a long time.”

The Green Bay defense held the Commanders to 230 total net yards, including just 51 on the ground.

“For our defense, I truly believe that the sky’s the limit,” added Gary. “Every day we come in here preparing for a team, we have to be consistent and we have to attack the week how we’ve been (doing). That’s focusing on all the details, coming together as a group, understanding where they want to hit – in terms of our weak points in the defense – and if all eleven understand that, we can play fast, how we’ve been doing it the past two weeks, but consistency is the key.” 

The Packers defense has surrendered just 97 yards on 41 carries in two games versus the Lions and Commanders.

“Relentless,” LaFleur said of his defense. “Just physical, aggressive, attacking. The play style is exactly what we want from these guys. I think our front is extremely disruptive. It’s definitely exciting to watch our defense go out there and perform. They allow us to get up on somebody.”

The Packers took a 14-0 first-half lead on Washington, on back-to-back scoring drives of 90-plus yards.

The first scoring drive ended on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs in the first quarter and the second led to a 2-yard TD run by Josh Jacobs midway through the second quarter, which extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown to 10, breaking his own team record established last season.

With 84 yards rushing against the Commanders, Jacobs has now eclipsed 7,000 yards in his seventh NFL season.

Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, caught six passes for a career-high 124 yards.

“Hopefully I can keep stacking games like that. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten over a hundred yards, including college. So, I’m feelin’ it now,” said the third-year tight end. “Whatever I can do to just help the team win. That is my main goal. You know, I have individual aspirations, but I don’t want them to get in the way of what we have in store for the team as well. So, by moving the ball, moving the sticks, being aggressive with the ball in my hands, that’s a way for me to bring momentum to the offense and for us to continue to keep it rolling.”

Kraft also hauled in a fourth-quarter touchdown, right after the Commanders had made it a one-score game.

“Teams come in here and they have such an emphasis on stopping No. 8. They think that the key to beating the Green Bay Packers is by stopping Josh (Jacobs). That’s a credit to him and all the work he’s put in. He’s such an influential back in the NFL, so teams keying him, it just opens up opportunities for everybody else,” Kraft added. “So, as a receiver, I hope teams keep coming in with that mindset and that game plan, but those plays will come for Josh. He’s on the cusp of another great season.”

Green Bay’s offense, coordinated by Adam Stenavich, amassed 404 yards against Washington, on a night when the Packers went into a no-huddle early on.

Kraft said the offensive tempo compliments the aggressive nature of Jeff Hafley’s defense.

“Absolutely. The only time we can’t be as aggressive as we want is when we get the ball backed up. We have to get at least two first downs before we can really set up anything to launch something downfield.

“Our defense was out there ballin’ today,” Kraft continued. “Keisean Nixon, them PBUs (pass break ups) – crucial, crucial downs. Our D-line getting to the quarterback. It’s just a new page for our defense this year.”

“The ball was just coming my way,” Nixon said of his defenses passes. “Usually I don’t get that many targets in a game, but I was in my zone.”

Green Bay racked up 135 on the ground and 269 through the passing game, in which six different receivers caught balls.

“With all the playmakers we have on our offense, you might as well just call us a five-headed dragon,” said Kraft.

The Packers, meanwhile, move on without the services of WR Jayden Reed, who suffered a collarbone break in the first quarter of the win over the Commanders, which was Green Bay’s seventh straight home win over Washington. That ties the team’s longest active home winning streak versus any single opponent (Seattle).

The Packers, the youngest team in the NFL (25 years, 267 days), beat the oldest team. Washington’s average roster age is 28 years, 266 days.

The primetime game under the lights against Washington on Sept. 11 was somewhat reminiscent of Green Bay’s game against the same franchise on Sept. 24, 2001 on Monday Night Football, 13 days after the 9/11 terror attacks of 2001.

The evening also featured a halftime ceremony honoring former Packer and newly-minted NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, whose name was unveiled on the northwest façade inside Lambeau Field, alongside the names of fellow Packers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Sharpe also received his HOF Ring of Excellence during the ceremony.