Washington Commanders vs Green Bay Packers Prediction, Odds and TNF Picks for Today, 09/11/25
Commanders vs Packers Guest Expert Predictions
Thursday Night Football features two 1-0 teams who left last weekend feeling great about their prospects in 2025. Naturally, at home and off a tremendous performance against the Lions, Green Bay is a small favorite on a short week. However, the Packers will need to duplicate the same energy that they brought on Sunday if they hope to see the same results and cover the spread.
Jayden Daniels and the Commanders certainly won’t make it easy. Against a ferocious Giants front-seven, Daniels navigated turbulent waters and made all the right plays when he needed to, throwing 19/30 for 233 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. He looked cool, calm and made it look easy. In many ways, he’s already the Steph Curry of football; aka, the kid is special, in an almost surreal way, and makes everyone around him better. Even more positive for Washington, his team ran for 220 total yards, split between 5 different ball carriers. Seventh-round draft pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the backfield with 82 yards, but Daniels was right behind him with 68 himself. The defense also made key plays throughout the game, limiting the Giants to just 231 total yards, and they sacked Russell Wilson twice. It was an energetic showing from Washington, a program that made it all the way to the NFC title game last season but had skeptics wondering if they could show up the same way in 2025. New York was one of the most bet-on sides in Week 1, to no avail.
Thursday’s home team may be the most talked-about team in the NFL after Week 1. Jordan Love was exceedingly efficient, 16/22 for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, and the Packers’ resistance held their rival to just 246 total yards and 13 points. It was a startling, almost eerie demonstration by their defense, a group that flew around the ball and pummeled the Lions’ players all game. Jared Goff was sacked 4 times (including one by newcomer Micah Parsons) and hit another 9 times, struggling to get anything going for all 4 quarters. And don’t be fooled by the fact that Green Bay only gained 266 yards; it was 24-6 at the start of the 4th quarter, so they let their foot off the gas earlier than usual.
What Jordan Love, Micah Parsons and the Packers did on Sunday looked exceptional, but Jayden Daniels is not a guy we like to bet against. Even on the road on a short week, we love the 2nd-year thrower, who’s playing as well as any QB in the league right now, to show up big in his first-ever contest at Lambeau Field. This will be a back and forth, close battle.
Commanders vs Packers prediction: Commanders +3.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
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Unsurprisingly, the total between Washington and Green Bay is high, with oddsmakers expecting a showcase from 2 of the most dynamic and entertaining young quarterbacks in the NFL. We have our reservations. Firstly, although Jayden Daniels played amazing football in Week 1, the Commanders are unlikely to see the same success on the ground. A team notorious for their potent running attack, Detroit only gained 46 rushing yards last week against a rock-solid Packers front-seven. That means they averaged an astonishing 2.1 yards per carry. Some of that may be because of offseason chances on Detroit’s roster, but they were a top-5 ground attack in every major category last season. Last Sunday, they had no chance. If Green Bay limits Washington like we expect, that means the onus will be on Daniels. We know he’s capable of holding the offense on his shoulders because he’s done so plenty of times before, but the Packers’ new, dynamic pass rush won’t make life easy there, either.
On the other side, we were pleasantly surprised by Washington’s defensive product in Week 1, too. New additions like Von Miller, Dietrich Wise and Javon Kinlaw were very active at the point-of-attack, limiting the Giants’ running backs to just 30 yards on the ground. The Commanders’ front-seven harassed Wilson all game, and a talented young secondary kept the Giants’ best offensive player, Malik Nabers, to just 74 yards. The Packers’ offense is obviously capable of putting up points, but we trust that this newly formed Commanders’ group, which is full of gritty veterans, can make the plays that matter to limit what Jordan Love and his counterparts accomplish.
Lastly, both defenses know they have a huge challenge on their hands in Week 2, an intangible factor that often leads to better-than-projected results from the unit where less is expected. This will feel like an early NFC playoff game, too.
Commanders vs Packers prediction: Under 48 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
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Chris Farley
Related game props
I’m fading the rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt in primetime, and a few factors are going into this one.
1. Pass Protection. Micah Parsons should wreak havoc on Thursday night and it’s going to be A LOT to expect the rookie to hold up in pass pro against that type of pass rush. I’m expecting fewer snaps on passing downs and that usually correlates to fewer overall snaps, or else you run the risk of becoming predictable.
2. Crowded backfield. Chris Rodriguez was a healthy scratch on Sunday and could factor into a crowded backfield Thursday night.
3. Inflated numbers. JCM went had 10 rushes for 82 yards with a long run of 42. So essentially he had 9 carries for 40 yards, or 4.4 ypc. This is the same defense that held David Montgomery to 2.3 ypc last week.
4. Matchup. In 3 games against Dan Quinn, LaFleur’s offenses have put up 30, 31 and 48 points. This would indicate a shootout, which is more suited for Ekeler.
This prop ties into what I mentioned above about LaFleur’s success against Quinn, and we also didn’t get much of an indication in Week 1 of what this Packers offense is capable of. It was 17-3 at halftime, but Jordan Love had 167 yards and then finished with 188, if that tells you anything. I’m still very skeptical of this Washington secondary and can see this one being a little more action-packed than either team’s first game of the season, both coming off dominant wins against inferior opponents (yes, Detroit is inferior). Last season was riddled with injury for Love, so it’s tough to use it as a benchmark for statistical data, but at home in 2023, Love averaged 268.9 ypg and 264.4 ypg in victories. His median output that season (which I value more than averages) was 251 ypg.
Good luck to the Washington Commanders running the football on Thursday Night. The Lions trailed out of the gate versus the Packers, so their run game was limited, but on 22 rush attempts, the Lions ran for just 46 yards. The Packers defensive front shut all windows and doors. With a questionable Commanders backfield that consists of Austin Ekeler and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Deebo Samuel should have gadget plays lined up – Particularly in the redzone. He’s much more of a threat in the passing game, as he reeled in seven of a team-led nine targets in Week 1.
The Packers completely controlled a Week 1 victory over the Lions. That led to 20 touches for Josh Jacobs and 22 pass attempts for Jordan Love – Lions having possession for 35 mins to the Packers 25. In a game many expect to feature plenty of scoring opportunities, rookie Matthew Golden could be in for a significant role on Thursday Night. He played 47% of the snaps in Week 1, but was targeted just twice. If the Packers find themselves in a negative game script, Golden should see an uptick in opportunities at home.
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See All NFL NewsThursday Night Football Betting Guide: Washington Commanders vs Green Bay Packers Expert Picks, Odds & Best Bets for Week 2
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