The Green Bay Packers could not have drawn up a better start as they were on the road against the New England Patriots. Drake Maye threw an interception to Xavier McKinney on the second play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Jordan Love ran for a touchdown that made the score 7-0. That score would go as high as 17-0 in the first half.

The second half started with Love hitting a couple big plays to Christian Watson leading to a touchdown to Savion Williams.

Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns. His top two receivers both went for over 160. The safety duo picked off Drake Maye three times.

The story of the game is the passing game on both sides.

That leads off our weekly list of winners and losers.

Winner: QB Jordan Love

Jordan Love has been asked to carry Green Bay’s entire offense all season long. They can’t run the ball. They can’t protect him. His receivers lead the league in drops.

None of it has mattered as Love came into Sunday’s game leading the league in passing yards. Playing in the same stadium as the best quarterback to ever play, Love was the best quarterback on the field.

He diced up New England’s defense essentially regardless of what the Patriots threw at him. He was under pressure a bunch. Didn’t matter.

JORDAN LOVE WAS BORN TO BALL

362 PASS YARDS
3 PASS TD
154.5 PASS RATING pic.twitter.com/bp55moIQUl

— PFF (@PFF) November 8, 2026

His run game still showed no life until late in the game. Didn’t matter.

The Patriots’ defense is really good at taking away explosive plays. That didn’t matter either. Love threw for 372 yards. He may have gone over 400 if he did not take a seat for the last nine minutes of play.

He threw a touchdown pass to Golden and Savion Williams, and ran for another. There’s no such thing as an MVP candidate until the calendar turns to December. If such a list were to exist, however, Love would be on it. He’s been that good.

Jordan Love against the blitz vs Patriots

10/11
146 Pass Yards
Pass TD
149.1 Pass Rating pic.twitter.com/VFboo8DsNA

— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2026

Winner: S Evan Williams

How good is Evan Williams? The Packers’ safety is starting to get some national recognition. Tom Brady was gushing about Williams during the game, and Williams put on a show.

He had an acrobatic interception early in the game with some fancy footwork off a tipped pass by his teammate Brandon Cisse.

He was deployed all over the formation and in the face of Drake Maye early and often when Jonathan Gannon would send him on pressures.

As well as his teammate Xavier McKinney has played, Williams has been better.

One cool tidbit: Williams’ mother used to babysit Brady when Brady was a child.

Winner: Dynamic Duo at Receiver

Christian Watson and Matthew Golden carry Green Bay’s passing game. The thought coming into the week was that Christian Gonzalez could be a formidable challenge to help eliminate at least one of those players from the equation to some degree.

That was a foolish thought. Both receivers torched Gonzalez and defensive backs not named Gonzalez. Watson and Golden both went well over 150 yards. They both scored a touchdown, with Golden getting the honors of catching the 100th touchdown pass of Love’s career.

JORDAN LOVE
CHRISTIAN WATSON

PACKERS ARE DOMINATING

GBvsNE on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/hxEPzs2KdC

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026

It’s not as if the rest of the league doesn’t know what Green Bay’s plan is on offense. Watson is going to surpass 1,000 yards for the first time of his career if he stays on the field. Golden might join him as well. That would make Watson and Golden the first duo of receivers to top 1,000 yards in Green Bay since Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson.

They are on pace to finish with 3,139 receiving yards.

Christian Watson and Matthew Golden vs Patriots

17 receptions
335 rec yards
2 TD

Best WR duo in NFL? pic.twitter.com/VQtqRDep5e

— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2026

Winner: S Xavier McKinney

Xavier McKinney’s first season in Green Bay felt like he caught an interception every week. Last season, the interceptions dried up, but the Packers insisted that McKinney was still playing as well as he did in 2024 when he was a First-Team All Pro.

Sunday, McKinney picked off Drake Maye twice, including one on Maye’s first pass of the game. Those were McKinney’s fourth and fifth interceptions of the season, which more than doubled his total from a season ago.

Xavier McKinney jumps the route for his 2nd INT of the half!

GBvsNE on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3YxfSAtIvC

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026

The Packers’ secondary is excellent, specifically at safety. McKinney is the leader, and keeps this group lined up correctly. Now, he’s making the big plays too.

Winner: RB Kaleb Johnson

Do the Packers have a running back? That’s probably a stretch at this point, but Kaleb Johnson emerged from Matt LaFleur’s doghouse and into the lineup out of necessity. Marshawn Lloyd was inactive. Josh Jacobs left the game early with a hand injury.

Johnson has looked good in his limited sample size during the season, he just had a fumbling problem that kept him on the bench.

Johnson’s first eight carries went for 56 yards. That made him the first individual rusher to go over 50 yards in a game this season.

Johnson may not be special, but he hits the hole with authority and runs downhill. Maybe that’s what the Packers need?

Even if Jacobs is ready to play next week, Johnson needs to get some run as his primary backup.

Loser: RB Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs has been out of the lineup for reasons outside of an injury. Sunday was his third game back in the lineup, and it did not last long. Jacobs took a pitch in the red zone on the Packers’ second scoring drive and stuck his hand in the facemask of a Patriot defender. The result was a hand injury that knocked him out for the rest of the first half.

Josh Jacobs got his right hand caught in the defenders face mask.
I’m curious if it’s his hand or his fingers.

It almost looks like one of his fingers snaps. pic.twitter.com/hngCa0PdG6

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) November 8, 2026

Jacobs also fumbled on the play, but the ball went out of bounds which helped the Packers avert disaster. With the trade deadline looming, running back is at the top of Green Bay’s potential shopping list. If Jacobs has to miss time or is limited, would Brian Gutekunst be more apt to find his replacement?

That remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, with Jacobs on the bench, Kaleb Johnson found some traction in the run game. It’s a small sample and obviously Jacobs is a more accomplished player than Johnson, but Johnson looked better today than anyone has all season.

Loser: LG Aaron Banks

Aaron Banks bounced in and out of the lineup again with a knee injury that has bothered him all season long. When he was in the game, he struggled mightily. He was credited with giving up three pressures, one sack, a quarterback hit, and a hurry in the first half from PFF.

He was beaten badly on a Josh Jacobs run that lost yardage as well.

Despite his struggles, he continues to start when he is healthy enough to play, and that included the second half of Sunday’s game. The play didn’t get any better. Banks is slow out of his stance. When he’s beaten, he’s beaten easily.

He was either injured or benched in the second half when Kevin Zeitler replaced him late in the third quarter at right guard with Laken Tomlinson sliding into Banks’ spot.

Maybe the Packers liked the idea of Aaron Banks when they signed him, but it’s pretty clear he’s not the player they envisioned. With his injury history, it’s fair to wonder if he ever will be.

Loser: LB Nick Niemann

New England’s first scoring drive came when Nick Niemann was pressed into a spot he had not been at for most of his career in Green Bay. Niemann is Green Bay’s fifth preferred linebacker, but had to see action due to a chest injury for Ty’Ron Hopper.

Niemann was caught flat-footed on a pass that was intended for Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson ran by Niemann with relative ease and was hauled in the pass from Maye to give the Patriots their first touchdown of the day.

Loser: CB Carrington Valentine

Valentine was in competition to start this offseason at cornerback, and there was some thought he might get the nod because of his ability in coverage.

That has not been the case. Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse won those jobs respectively and have not let them go. Valentine has played sparingly, and his snaps dwindled further on Sunday. Valentine was brought in as a dime back on an early third down and was tagged with a holding penalty that would have given the Patriots a first down if they had not otherwise converted.

From there, it looked like Valentine was replaced with Kamal Hadden who has been primarily a special teamer during his time in Green Bay.

The Packers are thin at cornerback which means Valentine is only ever a heartbeat away from finding his way back onto the field, but it looks like he is playing out the string for his time in Green Bay.  

It's a red-hot start - and a milestone - for Jordan Love and the Packers. ⬇️https://t.co/t7RX534buk

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 8, 2026