Jayden Reed, Zach Bako-Bewele Injured in Packers’ Nightmarish Start at Jets

It would have been almost impossible for Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur to conjure up a worse start on Sunday against the Jets.

Jordan Love was sacked on the first play of the game by David Bailey; either the execution was blown by the Packers or it was blown up by the Jets, but Love scrambled to try to get something out of nothing.

On second-and-11, LaFleur ran one of his get-back-on-track plays. A receiver screen to Jayden Reed gained 4 yards before he was tackled by Jets linebacker Demario Davis. Davis led with his shoulder and hit Reed on the helmet. Reed landed on his butt and fumbled – the play was ruled down – and hit the turf.

Reed laid on the turf for several minutes before he was strapped onto a board. With the entire sideline gathered nearby, Reed was eventually placed on a cart and driven to the locker. He quickly was ruled out with a neck injury.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) runs after the catch against the New York Jets. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If that wasn’t enough, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a knee injury while blocking Bailey on third-and-7. Jordan Love’s pass zipped through Matthew Golden’s hands and Bako-Bewele went to the turf clutching his knee.

Bako-Bewele’s right leg was put in a cast and he was carted off the field. He was ruled out, too.

Reed, an explosive receiver and one of the team’s young leaders, was bullish on the Packers in the aftermath of the Week 1 loss.

“It feels great. It’s just us, knowing we go out there together and put the work in,” he said this week. “Nobody else does that. Everybody can say whatever, man, but we blood, sweat and tears in, and it hurt us worse than anything when we don’t get the job done because we put the work in.

“Yeah, man, we’re just hard on ourselves as a team to get better and to finish together as a whole and get the result that we deserve for putting the work in. Yeah, we come in everyday we’ve just got to get what we earn.”

Reed, who led the Packers in reception and yards as a rookie in 2023 and again in 2024 but missed most of last season following a broken collarbone, caught only three passes for 20 yards against the Vikings.

Typical of Reed, he did not complain.

“It’s not frustrating. Every read can’t go your way,” he said. “When the ball finds you, you’ll get that opportunity. J-Love, he’s only got two eyes, you know what I’m saying? He can’t find everybody that’s open on every play. He’s going to go with his read and play fast and make the right read. He does a great job of that, and when your opportunity comes, you’ve just got to capitalize.”

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Zach Bako-Bewele (50) is carted off the field against the Jets. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bako-Bewele did not play to his usual standard against Minnesota, his first game since he suffered a season-ending knee injury at Denver that required surgery. He took limited reps during training camp and didn’t play in the preseason.

“I’ve got to play better and we’ve got to play better as a unit,” he said on Friday. “I think the biggest thing was getting my conditioning back. Yeah, playing 68 snaps, didn’t really have any issues, that was obviously a positive.”

Anthony Belton, who lost the starting battle at right guard, replaced Bako-Bewele. On his first possession, with the Packers facing third-and-long from near their own goal line, he had a strong pass-protection rep against Bailey.

Meanwhile, in the first 13 minutes, the Packers were guilty of six penalties, two of which came on third down and extended Jets drives. They were flagged a league-worst 12 times against the Vikings.

Green Bay’s offense went three-and-out on its first three possessions.

The Packers didn’t get their breakthrough first down until the final play of the first quarter, when Kaleb Johnson ran through a tackle attempt for a gain of 12 yards. The Packers were outgained 43-18 but the score was 0-0.

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