Keagan Smith takes you through his preview, prediction, and pick for NFL Week 2’s clash between the Packers and Commanders on Thursday Night Football.

Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season kick off with a massive meeting between NFC contenders on Thursday Night Football. The Green Bay Packers (1-0) host the Washington Commanders (1-0) in a preview of a possible playoff matchup between top teams. The Pack looked fantastic in their season-opener, but can Jayden Daniels come to town and spoil the party at Lambeau Field?

Get ready for the primetime action with a Packers vs. Commanders prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Packers vs. Commanders prediction, preview

Green Bay Packers

Goodness, did the Packers start the season with a statement. Green Bay hosted the Detroit Lions in Week 1 for an NFC North clash and emerged victorious with a 27-13 final score. It’s tough to decide where to start when recapping what this team showed in their opening contest, but the Packers put plenty of positives on tape.

The offense played just 48 snaps and lost the time-of-possession battle 24:35 to 35:25. The lack of work didn’t matter much in the end as Green Bay got what they wanted against the defense throughout the day. The ground game wasn’t particularly efficient as Josh Jacobs racked up 66 yards and a score on 19 carries, but Jordan Love dropped back 23 times and completed 16-of-22 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. The quarterback put forth a very efficient showing (aside from a pick-six which was called back due to a penalty) and takes that mojo into Week 2 against one of the NFL’s stingier pass defenses.

Love spread the ball around plenty and completed passes to 10 different players, but nobody caught more than three balls and Romeo Doubs paced pass catchers with just 68 yards. Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft hauled in the two passing scores, but first-round pick Matthew Golden put forth a quiet showing with just two catches for 16 yards. The team should look to get him more involved this week in a potential shootout.

As nice as the offense looked, the Packers’ defense stole more headlines by holding an uber-talented Lions squad to just 246 total yards and 13 points on the day. Despite losing Kenny Clark, Green Bay’s front seven still limited their opponents’ talented backfield to just 46 rushing yards. Star EDGE Micah Parsons, recently acquired via blockbuster trade, also tallied his first sack with his new team as the Pack brought down Jared Goff four times. They’ll have a much harder time getting to the quarterback this week against a scrambler like Jayden Daniels, but it’s tough to deny just how strong Green Bay looked against such a loaded opponent. The real question is whether they can repeat that performance against another great team.

Washington Commanders

The Commanders also won their opening game, though they weren’t taking nearly as difficult a test as the Packers did in Week 1. Washington hosted the New York Giants and downed the NFC East rival 21-6, but it probably should’ve ended in a bigger blowout. It seemed as though the Commanders let New York stay in the game much longer than they should have, taking a 14-3 lead into halftime and failing to score again until the third quarter.

While the Washington offense racked up 432 total yards, the scoreboard didn’t quite reflect the level of dominance on display. The Commanders ran for 220 yards on the ground as seventh-round rookie Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt paced the team with 82 rushing yards and a score on just 10 carries. The rookie seems bound to take over the majority of rushing work sooner rather than later, showing great vision and speed with a 42-yard run as well as a 19-yard scamper on his touchdown. Of course, Jayden Daniels showed off his legs with 68 yards on the ground in addition to 233 passing yards and a touchdown which went to Zach Ertz.

Newcomer Deebo Samuel also led the Commanders with seven receptions for 77 yards as a the focus of the passing game, a natural fit given his zone-beating ability and prowess in the screen game offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury loves. However, Terry McLaurin will need to show up in Week 2 if this contest becomes a tit-for-tat affair — while receivers often come back slowly following a holdout, the now $96 million man caught only two passes for a meager 27 yards.

The Washington defense now becomes the X-factor going into Week 2. Holding the Giants to 231 yards and a pair of field goals was a great start, but the Packers are a significantly better opponent. The Commanders ranked top six in passing yards allowed and defensive EPA vs. the pass in 2024, but lost safety Jeremy Chinn and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste over the offseason. They performed well against Russell Wilson and Malik Nabers by bottling up New York’s passing game to the tune of just 157 yards. While Washington also finished 10th in rushing yards allowed per contest last year, Jacobs brings a much tougher matchup than the Giants’ halfbacks did as well.

Packers vs. Commanders pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Packers as three-point favorites with -170 odds on the Moneyline. The Commanders are listed at +142 odds to upset on the Moneyline with the game total set at 48.5 combined points.

That over/under sits atop the Week 2 leaderboard tied for the slate’s highest mark, so it looks like a shootout may be on hand. Projecting that outcome does make some sense given the talent both of these offenses bring to the table, but the Packers love to play ball-control football and pound the rock. While they’ll probably play a slightly more balanced approach this season since Love isn’t playing through significant injuries as he did last year, Green Bay should prioritize the run game on Thursday night to try and keep Daniels off the field. That might lead to a couple fewer possessions for both sides, and the Commanders’ own offense might struggle some against this stacked defense.

While I want to project a high-scoring contest here, I’m actually struggling to feel confident in that pick given the likely game plan for the Packers. Of course, Daniels could totally blow things up and push his team to a 30-ball here to force Green Bay’s hand, but I feel more comfortable taking the under and assuming both sides try and get things done via the ground. I also think the Packers’ passing game could get the better of this new look Commanders secondary, especially if Love plays efficient ball and Golden can come online after the rookie got his feet wet last week, so I show a slight lean to Green Bay -3 at home.

In any case, it should provide a very interesting chess match between Dan Quinn and Matt LeFleur and a fun battle between a dual-threat in Daniels and a pocket-passer in Love. Get the popcorn ready.

Best bet: Under 48.5 points (-112)

Slight lean: GB Packers -3 (-118)