The Green Bay Packers delivered their best performance of the 2026 season with an overwhelming 45-27 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough. Quarterback Jordan Love was the biggest name of the afternoon, and several other Packers players executed at a high level.

Green Bay improved to 6-3. The win still came with some question marks, and a few players had afternoons to forget. Here are the winners and losers.

Winners

Jordan Love

Love was the first winner, and it is impossible to pick anyone else. He had his best game in the NFL and potentially the best game of his career.

The Packers had a questionable offensive line and no running game, but Love put the team on his back. He completed 23 of 29 passes for 372 yards, three touchdown passes, and no interceptions, finishing with a 153.2 passer rating. He took big shots downfield, extended plays, and stood in the pocket with courage even when the protection broke down. It was the kind of performance that shows he can be an MVP-level quarterback, and he’s played like one.

Golden-Watson duo

The Packers’ wide receivers have been fantastic all year, and the Matthew Golden–Christian Watson duo did it again in New England. Watson had seven receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown. Golden added 10 receptions for 164 yards and another touchdown.

Golden did most of his damage early. In the first quarter alone, he had six receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown, with a 158.3 passer rating when targeted. Per ESPN research, Golden and Watson are the first Packers duo to both reach 100 receiving yards in the same game multiple times in a season since Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson did it three times in 2014.

They produced that output against a top cornerback in Christian Gonzalez, too. The passing game was the main area where the offense could operate, and Green Bay had already surpassed 40 points before the end of the third quarter.

The secondary

Safety Xavier McKinney had two interceptions and continues to play at an absurd level. Evan Williams, probably the best player at his position in football this season, also had an interception and impacted the game in multiple ways. Williams suffered an injury during the game, but returned just to generate more pressure on quarterback Drake Maye.

Rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse isn’t playing like a first-year player. He is smart and detailed, and his awareness set up the Williams interception. Cisse also read and stopped a hook and ladder.

The secondary’s success also reflects how much the Packers invested in the coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has a background coaching defensive backs. Secondary coach/passing game coordinator Bobby Babich has been a home run hire, and cornerbacks coach Daniel Bullocks previously served as a passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. That staff is developing young players and getting the most out of everyone.

Isaiah McDuffie

Green Bay has dealt with plenty of injuries at linebacker. Edgerrin Cooper is out for the season, while Zaire Franklin is also hurt, and Ty’Ron Hopper left the game with a chest injury. The depth was exposed, but McDuffie is the bright spot of the unit.

He generated a pressure and forced a fumble against Rhamondre Stevenson. McDuffie is limited in coverage, but he is smart, good against the run, and has improved his range from sideline to sideline. The bad news is he also got hurt late in the game, even though the extent of the injury wasn’t clear.

Kaleb Johnson

It seems like every positive Packers’ run in this game came from running back Kaleb Johnson. The rushing offense has been a big issue all season, and the coaching staff hadn’t trusted Johnson much because of his fumble and pass protection issues. But he’s such a talented runner that it seems inevitable he will get more chances.

Johnson finished the game with 4.9 yards per carry (it was at 7.0 at some point late in the fourth quarter), including a surprising 34-yarder and a rushing touchdown. Johnson was only active because MarShawn Lloyd didn’t play with a knee injury, but the recently-acquired running back is the most talented player in the room beyond Josh Jacobs.

Trey Smack

Smack had been bad over the past few weeks, but the rookie kicker was much more comfortable on Sunday. He converted all of his kicks, including three field goals and four extra points. It’s early to say he became a reliable kicker, however it’s at least encouraging that he had the confidence to bounce back after a rough stretch.

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Losers

Aaron Banks

Banks was the biggest loser, and once again he dragged down the offense. He allowed three pressures in the first half alone.

The contrast with his replacement stood out. Banks left for four plays in the second quarter with an injury, so Kevin Zeitler entered at right guard and Laken Tomlinson moved to the left side. Zeitler posted a 73.5 PFF pass block grade on those snaps. Banks played 31 first-half snaps with a 0.0 pass block grade. His second half wasn’t better, in pass protection or as a run blocker, and the running offense immediately improved when Zeitler got back in.

It is hard to understand why Banks is still a starter. Maybe it’s sunk cost fallacy. Either way, the Packers should move Tomlinson back to left guard and give Zeitler a full-time chance at right guard.

Josh Jacobs

Jacobs left with a hand injury in the first half and barely played. When he was on the field, he had four carries for five yards, or 1.2 yards per carry.

Green Bay’s run blocking has been a problem, but the other backs fared better. Pierre Strong averaged 2.8 yards per carry, and we already talked about Kaleb Johnson. The Packers kept Jacobs because they believed he could overcome a bad situation, and that hasn’t happened yet.

Nick Niemann

Niemann is a solid special teamer. However, he had to play defense after Hopper left the game, and New England targeted him all game. He couldn’t do anything about it.

The Packers could have tried Kristian Welch, a better defensive player, or used safety Kitan Oladapo as a box safety or extra linebacker. If Hopper misses time, Green Bay will have to consider acquiring a linebacker ahead of the trade deadline or signing someone. McDuffie has been fine, but a combination of Niemann and Welch would inevitably leave the position exposed.