From MarShawn Lloyd’s ground game to Brandon Cisse’s secondary coverage, the Green Bay Packers' path to a crucial bounce-back victory depends on these three players dominating their matchups.
Let's put the Green Bay Packers' Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the past. It's done, it's over and there's nothing anyone can do about it at this point.
Was it a massive collapse? Yes. Was it a tremendous disappointment? Also yes.
Life moves on, though, and in the NFL, it moves on quickly. Week 2 sees the Packers travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the 1-0 New York Jets in head coach Aaron Glenn's second season.
Is there such a thing as a must-win Week 2 contest? This is about as close as it gets for the Packers. Starting off 0-2, with one divisional loss and one loss against a franchise that has been in the gutter for years, would be an apocalyptic scenario for Green Bay.
To win, the Packers need these three players to really step up their games.
The Packers need more from MarShawn Lloyd in Week 2
Sep 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd (32) runs the ball during the second half against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.The good news with running back MarShawn Lloyd is that he's healthy. We haven't been able to say that about him for the past two seasons.
In fact, he had a career game against the Vikings in Week 1. And by that, he actually played in the game and didn't come away injured.
Lloyd rushed 13 times for 37 yards, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry.
It's good that he got out there, knocked the rust off and stayed healthy, but the Packers need some semblance of a run game so that opposing defenses don't just tee-off on quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers need Lloyd to not just run the rock, but flash some of that shiftiness and speed that he did with the USC Trojans back in college.
Even just a flash could be all this offense needs to be extremely explosive.
The Packers need Brandon Cisse to figure it out quicker
The Packers are putting a ton of faith in rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse. The second-round draft pick started in Week 1 against Minnesota on the other side of Keisean Nixon and at the very least, he looked the part.
He did get burned by Justin Jefferson for a 39-yard touchdown, but Jefferson is elite and can make even great cornerbacks look silly. It was certainly a "welcome to the NFL" moment for the rookie, though.
Cisse has what it takes to be great, but with the Packers simply throwing him into the fire, they're going to need him to adapt quickly.
The Jets do have a great receiver of their own in Garrett Wilson, so expect Cisse to be tested again in Week 2.
The Packers need Sean Rhyan to lead the offensive line
All the evaluators coming out of Week 1 were saying that center Sean Rhyan was essentially by his two guards against the Vikings. Donovan Jennings and Jacob Monk looked lost, which led to Rhyan having to deal with a whole lot of action in the middle while Jennings and Monk blocked a whole lot of nothing.
That was an indictment of the guard play, but keep in mind that the center is the quarterback of the offensive line. It's Rhyan's job to make sure everyone is on the same page and that all the blocking schemes and adjustments are being executed in real time.
Love was sacked four times against Minnesota, he was hit 15 times and he faced ten unblocked pressures.
Everyone on the offensive line deserves blame, but Rhyan is the leader of that unit and it's not like he played well on his own. Per ESPN, he was ranked last (32nd) amongst all centers in Week 1 in pass-block win rate.
The Packers need him to be better. They paid him a lot of money to be better, and that has to start here in Week 2.
