Packers vs. Jets: Trey Smack's Overtime Winner Snaps Green Bay's Six-Game Skid in a Week 2 Flag Fest

For most of a soggy Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the Green Bay Packers looked like a team auditioning for a blooper reel. Flags everywhere. Fumbles everywhere. Down 10 in the fourth quarter, with a sea of white towels waving and a seventh straight loss coming into focus.

Then the plot flipped. Rookie kicker Trey Smack drilled a 26-yard field goal with 5:23 left in overtime, and the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Jets 20-17, snapping a six-game losing streak that stretched back through last season's playoffs. Both teams sit at 1-1.

Ugly for Three Quarters, Then Pure Cinema

Neither offense could get out of its own way early, with the teams trading six punts in the first quarter. Green Bay finally broke through on a 64-yard drive capped by Jordan Love's dump-off to MarShawn Lloyd, who shook loose for a 6-yard touchdown. It was Lloyd's first NFL touchdown. The 2024 third-round pick had appeared in exactly one game over two injury-wrecked seasons.

New York answered immediately with a 70-yard march finished by Braelon Allen's 5-yard run, tying it at 7. Late in the third quarter, Geno Smith found Garrett Wilson for a 5-yard score and a 14-7 lead. Early in the fourth, Kingsley Enagbare punched the ball free from Lloyd and Harrison Phillips pounced. New York had forced three earlier fumbles without coming up with any of them; this time it cashed in. Jason Sanders turned it into a 32-yard field goal and a 17-7 cushion with 11:04 to go.

That's when Green Bay remembered it had a pulse. A deep shot to Matthew Golden drew a pass interference flag, and Love capped a 73-yard drive with a 3-yard play-action touchdown to Christian Watson. After a defensive stop, Skyy Moore ripped off a 63-yard punt return to the Jets 19, and Smack tied it from 34 with 2:59 left. Both teams then came up empty on fourth down, and the game spilled into overtime.

Lukas Van Ness Finally Shows Up Loud

The best player on the field won't show up in anybody's fantasy app. Lukas Van Ness finished with 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits, the kind of afternoon Green Bay has been waiting on since drafting him in the first round.

"He was all over the place," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. "He's really coming into his own."

Edgerrin Cooper added eight tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss. Together they helped strangle the New York run game: Breece Hall, who rumbled for 102 yards in the opener at Tennessee, managed 29 yards on 16 carries.

Moore was the other quiet hero, piling up 92 yards on four punt returns and 116 more on four kickoff returns. When your offense totals 199 yards, a return man who flips the field is worth his weight in cheese curds.

Love's numbers (16 of 29, 145 yards, two touchdowns) won't make a highlight package, but context matters. He took a shot to the elbow that left his right hand numb for a stretch and never came out.

"It's a huge win," Love said. "It's one of those games where you just have to keep fighting. It wasn't pretty a lot of that game."

For the Jets, Smith went 27 of 41 for 247 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked four times. Adonai Mitchell drew 12 targets and caught six for 63 yards.

Overtime, Rewritten in Two Snaps

The Jets won the coin toss, took the ball and promptly went backward like a moonwalk. Smith was sacked on each of the first two plays, the second shared by Van Ness, and an Isaiah Williams false start created third-and-30. A 12-yard catch by Kenyon Sadiq only made the punt a little shorter.

"I don't think you can start an overtime better than the way the defense did there," Love said.

Green Bay took over at its own 34 and moved with purpose. Kaleb Johnson ran for 11 and then 3, Love hit Chris Brooks for 15, and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. tacked on 15 more with an unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit. Then Love floated a quick throw over a blitzing cornerback to Golden for 14 yards, setting up first down at the 8. LaFleur didn't get cute. He sent out Smack, who calmly ended it.

Stats That Matter

• 14 for 133: Green Bay's accepted penalties and yards. The Jets were somehow worse at 13 for 156.
• 26: Packers penalties through two games.
• 37:40: New York's time of possession, which bought it exactly nothing in the end.
• 1 of 9: Green Bay on third down, a number that usually loses games.
• Six: The losing streak the Packers snapped, their longest skid since a seven-game slide that spanned the 1990 and 1991 seasons.

A Win That Buys Green Bay Some Air

Last week's 39-22 loss at Minnesota came with 12 penalties and 29 straight Vikings points to close. Another loss here would have meant the franchise's first 0-2 start in 20 years. Instead, Green Bay heads home for a Thursday night date with Atlanta with some life and a long to-do list.

"In two weeks, we've had a lot of penalties that have put us back," Love said.

The bigger worry is health. Green Bay's opening possession cost it two players on back-to-back snaps, with wide receiver Jayden Reed and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele both leaving on carts. Reed, who hurt his neck, was moving his extremities, and LaFleur said he'd be kept overnight at a hospital for observation, while Bako-Bewele's knee "doesn't look good." Guard Aaron Banks (toe), his replacement Donovan Jennings (hand), defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle) and receiver Bo Melton (stinger) were also banged up.

The Jets, coming off a 23-10 win at Tennessee, mostly outplayed Green Bay in their home opener and will feel this one on the trip to Detroit next Sunday. They outgained the Packers 285 to 199 and still found a way to lose.

"I'll be honest, I'm highly upset," Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. "This loss is not going to define who we are and what we're about, I will say that."

Messy Kitchen, Finished Plate

This game played like an episode of The Bear: chaotic, loud, everybody yelling 'Yes, Chef,' and somehow the dish still made it out of the kitchen. LaFleur summed it up best.

"It was tough sledding there for about three quarters," LaFleur said.

The fourth quarter and overtime were a different story. Ugly wins still count, and for a team that hadn't tasted one since last season, this one should taste just fine.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Packers.com.