Many fans may still be basking in the victory over Detroit on Sunday. But as far as the Packers are concerned, it was back to business Monday morning for a short turnaround to Thursday night. Tonight, your Green Bay Packers will take on the Washington Commanders at  7:15 PM CST from Lambeau Field. The Packers sit at 1-0 coming off a 27-13 win over the Lions that seemed like pure domination. The Commanders didn't have much of a different result themselves, pulling off a 21-6 week 1 win over the New York Giants. Both teams have aspirations to be one of the dominant clubs in the NFC this season, making this game yet another big one for the Green and Gold.

The last time these two teams met was three years ago, when the Commanders pulled off a 23-21 victory over a slumping Packers team in the middle of what would be a five-game losing streak. A lot has changed for both teams in three years, as neither team has the same starting quarterback or starting running back. Aaron Rodgers was at the helm of the Packers for his final season with the team, going 23/35 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Taylor Heinicke was slinging the rock for Washington, going 20/33 for 201 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running the ball for Green Bay was Aaron Jones, who only nabbed 23 yards on eight carries, and for Washington, it was Brian Robinson getting 73 yards off 20 carries. The only skill position player that remains on the Packers who saw snaps in that game is Romeo Doubs. Who had zero catches off four targets. So, needless to say, these are both far different teams than they were three years ago. 

On Sunday, the Packers delivered an exciting and dominant performance. The electricity in the air at Lambeau Field was nearing an all-time high for a September matchup. And it seemed like the team fed off of it. With a little help from the addition of Micah Parsons, the Packers' defensive front seemingly overwhelmed the Lions' new-look offensive line and had Jared Goff rushing his throws all game long. On offense, the Packers struggled to establish the run early. But this shouldn't come as a surprise when halting Josh Jacobs was the main focus of Detroit's defense. What they didn't count on, however, was Jordan Love making them pay in the passing game, and the fact that their pass-rush would be virtually non-existent. Against a Detroit team that bases its success on bullying the opposition, Green Bay out-bullied the Lions in the trenches. 

Tonight, the Packers face a Commanders team that out-bullied the Lions as well when the two teams met in the divisional playoffs last year. Riding that same momentum that they enjoyed Sunday will be a key to tonight's matchup if they want to pull off a victory against Washington. 

What to see on Offense

One of the most important words when it comes to tonight's game is recovery. When you have the quick turnaround of a Thursday night game, the bruises, wear, and tear on players' bodies that come with a standard Sunday game don't quite have enough time to recover. In the Packers' case, they could be without two offensive linemen, Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, due to injuries sustained on Sunday, as they are listed as questionable. It's anyone's guess whether or not the two would have been recovered by the following Sunday had week 2 been a standard turnaround, but Jordan Morgan and Darian Kinnard will likely need to step up in their place. Both Morgan and Kinnard came in on Sunday in place of the two and did a great job in relief. They will have to keep that momentum going, facing a Washington defensive front that can make an impact if needed.

Washington's defensive front was led by Dorance Armstrong against the Giants last Sunday, who registered two of the team's three sacks, along with nine pressures on the QB. The other sack belonged to defensive tackle Daron Payne. With Armstrong and Payne comes Von Miller, who signed with Washington this past offseason to bolster the team's pass rush.

Against the run, they have the seemingly ageless Bobby Wagner, along with Frankie Luvu, who together combined for 17 tackles, and held New York's rushing attack to 74 yards. Giants' QB Russell Wilson ended up being the team's top rusher with eight carries for 44 yards, while lead back Tyrone Tracy Jr. carried the ball ten times for only 24 yards. 

They have the skill to get after the QB and stop the run, but we now come to the Commanders' side of that word mentioned before, recovery. Veteran players tend to take a bit longer to recover than their younger counterparts. The average age of Washington's front seven is a little over 30. Factor in that Sunday was week 1, the first time their bodies have played a full game in eight months, and there's a chance we could see a bit of a worn-down Washington front-seven. These players are still relentless, but the Packers would be wise to try to wear them down early. 

Josh Jacobs had 19 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown against a Lions team that believed if they stopped Jacobs, they'd win the game. They held Jacobs early, but they didn't count on Jordan Love and company to beat them instead. Love went 16/22 for 188 yards and two touchdowns. I would imagine Dan Quinn's defense would pick up on Detroit's mistake, though, planning for them both equally. 

Romeo Doubs played like a man possessed on Sunday, showing a fire that the often stone-faced receiver rarely displays after reeling in two catches for 68 yards with a long of 48. Jayden Reed also surprised a few naysayers who believed he'd be a non-factor due to injury by catching three targets for 45 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Love passed the rock to ten different pass catchers against Detroit, and Washington is going to have to match up to pick their poison.  Marshon Lattimore leads the Commanders' defenders with Packer fans' draft darling, rookie Trey Amos, opposite him on the perimeter. At nickel, the Commanders have Mike Sainristil as well as Noah Igbinoghene. 

If the Packers' pass protection holds up, we could see some success through the air tonight. 

What to See on Defense

The Packers' pass rush kicked off their hype train on Sunday, picking up four sacks and nine QB hits on Jared Goff, with one of each coming from the new QB-hunting weapon, Micah Parsons. Washington QB Jayden Daniels took three sacks from New York on Sunday and was hit five times. So, the Packers should be able to hunt him, too, right? Pump the brakes. Daniels ran for 68 yards on 11 carries on top of his 19/30 for 233 yards and a touchdown through the air. He is very much a dual-threat quarterback, and any Packer fan over the age of 15 probably has PTSD from the team's issues with multi-talented signal callers in their history.

The good news on the run-threat front is that the Packers did a fairly good job last year against mobile quarterbacks. Most notable was their containment of Jalen Hurts in week 1, holding him to only 33 yards on 13 carries. Jeff Hafley used Quay Walker as a spy last year effectively; this year, Walker could do the same, but Edgerrin Cooper has pulled away a bit between the two. Having two linebackers capable of spying on Daniels could be a luxury tonight. 

The Commanders' offensive line isn't the most talented after veteran Laremy Tunsil, so the Packers' defensive front could have some success breaking through, but I would look for plenty of play-action to try to keep the defense honest, and also for Jayden Daniels to be ready to either get the ball out quickly or take off running. Given the quick release Daniels possesses, Packers defenders will need to keep their heads up early to try to take away the quick-pass game; otherwise, Daniels could beat them with quick chunk plays. 

The Commanders' pass-catchers are a talented bunch, most notably led by veteran Terry McLaurin. McLaurin missed most of camp negotiating a new contract, so he may still need a bit of time to knock the rust off after only grabbing two catches for 27 yards on four targets on Sunday, but Scary Terry is always a big-play threat that the Packers will need to account for. Alongside McLaurin, they have the newly acquired Deebo Samuel, who broke out in his Washington debut, securing seven targets for 77 yards. Samuel is a playmaker who can give the defense fits, so the Packers will have their hands full with him tonight. Tight end Zach Ertz may be up there in age, but he's still a reliable target for Jayden Daniels. The Commanders like to utilize the middle of the field, and for some reason, the Packers always seem to struggle with that area. Hopefully, tonight they can nail that down so they're not beaten by someone like Zach Ertz play after play.

In the running game, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt had a nice debut running for 82 yards on ten carries; one of those runs was a 42-yard scamper. Austin Ekeler had six carries for 26 yards. Green Bay's run defense quite possibly shocked the league on Sunday, holding Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to only 44 yards combined on 20 carries. The difference between these two running games, though, is that Detroit's backs run a little more between the tackles while Washington's backs are more likely to get out to the edge. Given that the perceived weakness in Green Bay's run defense is in the middle of the defensive line, Washington may be inclined to change it up a bit in testing the middle. If not, they'll be testing a Packers' front seven who were relentless in swarming the football last Sunday. Given Washington's offensive line is still finding its footing, this could be another game for Green Bay's run defenders, like Colby Wooden, to show they're ready to step up and fill in nicely after the departure of Kenny Clark. 

Extra Notes

Savion Williams took kick returns on Sunday and looked pretty good in doing so, though a penalty wiped out his longest return (37 yards) from counting. Given that the majority of action the third-round pick had in training camp was in camp practices, it was good to see him on the field having some kind of an impact in week 1. If the kick return team can stay away from penalties, it will be fun to see what Williams can do for our return game. 

Punt returns, to the surprise of some, despite their obvious listing on the depth chart, were handled by Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. Not to say they shouldn't be handling punts, but it can be a bit of a surprise to see skill position players so high on the offensive depth chart in the return game, as most would assume the team would want to save them for offense and not risk injury. But when they're the best to do it, you don't want to trust anyone else. Of course, last week I questioned whether or not Mecole Hardman might be elevated from the practice squad to take that role; he was not, and the role belonged to Reed and Golden. I would assume it will be the same tonight. 

Our punting and kicking game, to the surprise of no one, was outstanding on Sunday, with Brandon McManus going 2/2 with field goals and 3/3 on extra points. Daniel Whelan was outstanding as well, averaging 54.7 yards on three punts, with a long of 65. I would expect the same tonight as Whelan looks to make his case as one of the best in the league this season. 

Kickoffs to Washington will need to be disciplined tonight from the Packers' kick coverage team. Between Deebo Samuel and Luke McCaffrey, the Commanders' kick return game on Sunday averaged 28.7 yards per return with a long of 36 yards from McCaffrey. The coverage team did well against Detroit on Sunday, and they need to keep that going tonight to ensure special teams doesn't factor into the game results against their favor. 

In the End

It's a white-out game at Lambeau today with the Packers wearing their all-white uniforms for the second time. The last, and only other time these uniforms were worn was when the Houston Texans came to town, and in Brandon McManus' Packers' debut, he nailed the game-winning field goal before leaping into the Lambeau crowd. 

After this Thursday night matchup, the Packers will have an abbreviated bye week as they won't play again for 10 days before heading to Cleveland to take on the Browns. It will be much appreciated after having to start the season with only three days' recovery between their first two games. 

Hopefully, the Packers can ride the momentum they stirred up with a big win on Sunday and pull off another statement win against a good Washington Commanders team on their way to a 2-0 record. Go Pack Go.