GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers blew out the New England Patriots on Sunday. It was a statement victory against the defending AFC champions.

With Jordan Love, Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and some big plays on defense, the Packers are good enough to beat any team on any given Sunday.

Maybe even the second Sunday of February.

Here are this week’s Packers Overreactions

1. NFL Should Be Terrified

Jordan Love threw 18 passes to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. They turned those into 17 completions for 335 yards and two touchdowns. To say that trio single-handedly led the Packers to victory would be exaggeration, obviously, but they powered an emphatic win over one of the top teams in the NFL.

Asked about Watson and Golden after the game, Love had this to say:

“I think that’s something that we’ve been building on. You know, me and Christian have been together for a while now, and MG going in Year 2. I think more opportunities for those guys, and to really just settle in and get as many reps as possible throughout OTAs, training camp, and we made the most of it.

“So, we’ve got to keep building. There’s still more out there for us. I talk about this all the time, but just the connection we’ve been having and making plays downfield, and I think tonight was just kind of the epitome of everything we’ve been putting work in for. But I think there’s still more out there. But these guys, those two, they’re just making play after play. So, it really makes it easy for me. Just keep going to them.”

The three big words there?

“More out there.”

More? More than 325 yards and two touchdowns? More than six deep completions for 235 yards? More than Watson ranking third in the NFL in receiving yards and Golden ranking fourth? More than their pace to finish with more than 3,100 yards?

More than dominating one of the premier cornerbacks in the NFL in Christian Gonzalez? More than routing a defense led by Mike Vrabel? More than being unstoppable when everyone in the stadium knew where Love wanted to throw the ball?

What a scary statement for the rest of the league entering the second half of the season.

Love was magnificent. When the Patriots blitzed, he had answers. When the Patriots had pressure, he made a play. When he had time, he made the Patriots pay.

“Flowing. That’s what it feels like. Feels like you’re just in that flow state and just finding ways to get guys the ball,” Love said. “But, definitely, just feels like you’re flowing. It’s a great feeling, and you just want to keep chasing every play and keep making big plays.

“I think I made some good throws, but I think guys are making some pretty cool catches, as well. So, yeah, we just got to keep you know building on that. Christian and MG, I mean, I looked at their stat line after the game and it was just crazy. It’s crazy to see that, and I think they’re balling right now. So, we just got to keep finding ways to get them the rock.”

2. Backfield Is Solved

The Packers entered Sunday’s game averaging barely 60 rushing yards per game. That put them on pace to have the worst rushing attack in NFL history.

Against a stout Patriots defense, the Packers ran for 129 yards. With Josh Jacobs out with a broken finger and MarShawn Lloyd inactive, coach Matt LaFleur had to let Kaleb Johnson out of the doghouse. He responded with 68 yards on 14 carries. He had 60 yards after contact, by our count.

“I feel like this is a little thing of what I can do when I get comfortable with the system and get familiar with the system,” he said. “Going over plays with [running backs] coach [Ben] Sirmans every day and just building on that and learning what to do on and off the field and just being me, just getting comfortable and confident.”

The Packers should have their backfield for the rest of the season.

In 2024 and 2025, the Packers leaned on Jacobs as the No. 1 runner with Emanuel Wilson providing solid play as the No. 2 and Chris Brooks entering in pass-protecting situations. That should be the plan going into the second half of the season, with Jacobs as the No. 1 back, Johnson as the sidekick and Brooks entering in pass-protecting situations once he’s activated from injured reserve.

And Lloyd? Maybe it’s time to admit defeat on the former third-round pick.

3. Jonathan Gannon’s Masterclass

Before the game, Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon called the matchup against New England’s offense a “big-time challenge.” The start of the challenge was quarterback Drake Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

“They’re a Super Bowl-caliber team, and they’re playing that way on offense,” Gannon said on Tuesday. “I think Josh McDaniels does an excellent job. They’re very creative, their scheme is robust, he gets them in the right plays. They got good backs, the O-line’s good, they got skill guys. This is a good crew now.”

The Packers led the Patriots 42-14 late in the third quarter. They forced four turnovers and made life miserable for Maye, last year’s MVP runner-up.

You know all of that. But consider the challenges.

Micah Parsons just returned to practice. The Packers are 11th in points allowed and total defense with their best player having missed all nine games.

The Packers played most of the game with their No. 3 and No. 5 linebackers. Edgerrin Cooper, who had been the team’s best defensive player without Parsons, is out for the season with a torn Achilles and defensive captain Zaire Franklin missed a third game with an injured shin. On Sunday, backup-turned-starter Ty’Ron Hopper played two snaps before exiting with a chest injury.

So, the Packers had to line up with steady veteran Isaiah McDuffie and special-teams ace Nick Niemann. Sure, Niemann gave up a touchdown catch but the Packers shut down one of the top offenses in the league without their All-Pro edge rusher and with a skeleton crew at linebacker.

You’d think an offensive guru like McDaniels and a top quarterback like Maye would be able to take advantage. They couldn’t, though, because Gannon sent blitz after blitz after blitz that McDaniels and Maye couldn’t handle.

“I thought it was pretty solid,” said Xavier McKinney, who had two interceptions. “Obviously, I thought we did a good job of getting the ball. We had a lot of turnovers. I think they gave us some plays that we didn’t really want to give up. They scored 27, so we got some things to get corrected. But I think overall we played a solid game. I do think there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

That’s a variation of what Love said about there being “more out there,” but it’s the same theme. The defense wrecked the Patriots but there’s room to improve.

“I think JG’s brought a different level of energy to our defense and even to our team, to be honest with you,” McKinney said. “Obviously with the players that we have, everybody’s hungry, everybody is trying to figure out ways where they can be better as individuals, and then collectively that helps the group.”

Added together, if there’s another gear for the offense with the emergence of the running game and there’s room to improve on defense – hello, Micah Parsons – Sunday’s blowout could be the jumping-off point for this team.

With the way Jordan Love played in the Packers’ blowout of the Patriots – on the day he threw his 100th TD pass and with Tom Brady on the call – he perhaps for the first time in his career looked like a QB not just capable of winning a Super Bowl but ...https://t.co/2GoDnLfjs2

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 9, 2026