Green Bay Packers: 3 studs and duds from 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Jets

The Green Bay Packers are 1-1 on the season following their 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. They avoided starting the season 0-2, something they have not done since 2006. It did not, however, look like they were going to get the win for most of the contest.

Fans who watched the game were frustrated by just about everything the offense did for the totality of the game. Even when they were driving and scoring late in the fourth quarter, some of the play calls were highly questionable.

3 studs for the Green Bay Packers vs the New York Jets

Regardless, the team did enough to win and there are no apologies for winning in the NFL. Additionally, more than one Green Bay player had a strong individual showing.

For the first time in a long time, the Packers won because of their defense and special teams. No player on these units shined brighter than 2023 first round pick Lukas Van Ness .

Tasked with leading a Green Bay pass rush that is without All-Pro Micah Parsons , Van Ness tallied 10 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits.

Now with 2.5 sacks on the season, Van Ness is proving to be a real threat in pass rush, something that the Packers needed him to be sans Parsons. If he keeps playing like this, especially when their All-Pro returns, Green Bay's pass rush will be incredibly tough to defend.

One can say many things about how badly the Packers special teams have been for, well, the last couple of decades. That being said, this year's unit certainly seems to have become a strength for the team.

Skyy Moore, who was signed as a free agent this offseason for the sole purpose of handling kick and punt return responsibilities, showed why Green Bay wanted him in the first place.

He had 116 kick return yards (including one for 43 yards) and 92 punt return yards (including one for 63 yards that set up the game-tying field goal).

"Best in the league," Tucker Kraft said of Moore. "I told him, 'When that ball's coming down in the air, man, you gotta just keep reminding yourself you are the best in the league at what you do.'"

To be honest, any number of the defensive front seven could have been put here. However, rookie kicker Trey Smack got a game ball from the coaching staff and the final spot here. In just his second career game, he was asked to make a clutch field goal to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, and another to win the game in overtime.

3 duds for the Green Bay Packers versus the New York Jets

Unfortunately, aside from the defense and special teams, there was very little to feel good about regarding the team's performance as a whole. Offensively, the Packers struggled once again and the team committed nearly an historic amount of penalties.

After a strong showing in Week One, Keisean Nixon had a frustrating performance in Week Two. He was targeted early and often by the Jets offense due to his inability to keep consistent coverage on the wide receivers he was tasked with. Combined with the penalties he committed, it was truly the least-inspiring performance for a defensive unit that was otherwise solid.

How long are Green Bay fans going to hear Matt LaFleur preach about discipline before his teams finally show it? The Packers had 13 penalties accepted against them for 156 yards. Fortunately, New York was nearly as bad, committing 14 penalties for 133 yards.

Additionally, the offense came out looking underprepared and unmotivated, just as they were last week. These are mental hurdles that are a direct reflection of the coaching staff.

What a horrible place to play. After installing real actual grass from the World Cup this summer, they took it out and replaced it with that awful fake turf. Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a leg injury that could have ended his season, Jayden Reed suffered a back injury, though it is not likely the turf played a role in that.

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