The Green Bay Packers overcame a dismal yardage total and a mountain of penalties to defy a 0-44 historical trend.
The Green Bay Packers may not have earned any new fans with their style of play on Sunday, Sept. 19, but they improved to 1-1 and that's all that matters.
Head coach Matt LaFleur has been the center of attention recently for this team's six-game losing streak, but they overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit in this one and picked up a huge win on the road.
This may not have been the confidence booster the team needed in terms of blowing out an opponent like the New York Jets, but they hung in there until the very end and made NFL history in more ways than one.
According to ESPN Insights, here are the three ways the Packers made history during their 20-17 overtime victory.
1. No team on record has won a game with less than 200 total yards
To think the Packers only had 199 yards in this game is remarkable. Remember, quarterback Jordan Love was coming off a nearly 400-yard passing game in Week 1, so this team had quite a 180 in seven days time.
2. Committed 100+ penalty yards
There was laundry all over MetLife Stadium as this game saw double-digit penalties called against both teams. The Packers weren't the only guilty party, but the last thing everyone wanted to see was 133 penalty yards after how things transpired in Week 1.
3. Negative turnover margin
Love didn't throw an interception, but the Packers had a crucial fumble that could've changed the course of the game. Green Bay failed to force any turnovers, but in the end, their negative one margin didn't come back to haunt them.
Teams were 0-44 with all three prior to Sept. 20, 2026
There's not a single team in NFL history to win a game when all three of these things happened to them in the same game.
It seems like an insurmountable hill to climb for a team to even win a game by only having 199 yards, but Skyy Moore's performance on special teams helped flip field position time and time again.
The turnover margin is one thing, but the penalties were another. When looking at the bigger picture, this isn't sustainable. Everyone knows it, but for now, the Packers are going to enjoy this win as they prepare for a short week which leads into Thursday Night Football against the struggling Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 24.
