GREEN BAY – Zaire Franklin could tell something was off on the sideline.
But truthfully, how could it not be?
Minutes into Sunday's matchup with the New York Jets, the Packers witnessed one of their leaders, receiver Jayden Reed, carted off the field on a backboard following a scary hit to his head-and-neck area.
Then, on the very next play, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was writhing in pain on the MetLife Stadium turf after re-injuring his surgically repaired knee.
For Franklin, this part of the game is never easy.
Not in Year 1. Not in Year 9.
Especially when it's somebody like Reed, one of the most beloved players in the locker room, or Bako-Bewele, who spent his entire offseason rehabbing to back be on the field in Week 1.
But there was still a job that needed to be done.
"When you're going through those type of things at the beginning of a game, that can kind of knock your energy and your focus off," Franklin said. "In a weird way, it feels like you're grieving. But at the end of the day, you gotta do your job."
That was Franklin's message to Green Bay's defense and really anyone in earshot of the former All-Pro linebacker on the sideline. The Packers needed to rally and that's what they did.
The performance wasn't perfect. Far from it. But Green Bay responded to the moment on its way to a come-from-behind 20-17 overtime win over the Jets.
Without much reprieve on a short week, the Packers must again reset as they get ready to welcome the Atlanta Falcons for Thursday's regular-season opener at Lambeau Field.
They will do it without Bako-Bewele, who told reporters Tuesday that he suffered a full tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee, the same one he partially tore last December in Denver that ended his 2025 campaign.
Bako-Bewele said he's scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday and faces a nine-month recovery.
"It's definitely not what I anticipated happening," Bako-Bewele said. "But you just gotta get back to work and then start thinking about next year."
Meanwhile, Head Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Reed is back in Green Bay and in good spirits after staying overnight Sunday in New Jersey for observation.
LaFleur told reporters Tuesday that Reed is still undergoing testing and consulting with doctors, adding it's "way too early" to know whether he'll play again this season.
"He's back in town, so we'll see when he gets back in the building what all's going on," said quarterback Jordan Love when asked how Reed was doing on Tuesday. "The big thing is just everybody is happy to see that he's doing good, that this isn't anything that is worse than what the injury is."
In addition to losing Reed and Bako-Bewele, the Packers finished the game without starting left guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe) and his replacement Donovan Jennings (hand).
Both were estimated as practice non-participants Tuesday, though LaFleur said the team will give Banks up until gametime to potentially play Thursday night.
Rookie fifth-round pick Jager Burton finished the game at left guard and could be a candidate to start there if Banks and Jennings can't go.
Like New York, the Packers must find a way to press forward in the face of injuries and adversity.
"It's just like putting a puzzle together," LaFleur said. "That's the situation, and we've got to do the best that we can to go out there and play winning football. Nobody cares about the circumstances. It is a circumstance, and you got to work around it."
The response Franklin sought on the sidelines could be seen in all three phases against the Jets.
Without Reed, starting wideouts Christian Watson and Matthew Golden combined for eight of Green Bay's 16 catches against the Jets and 109 of Love's 145 passing yards.
Both made key plays late in the comeback – Watson snagged a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and Golden caught a 14-yard lob to set up Trey Smack's game-winning field goal in overtime.
Former second-round pick Anthony Belton played the final 56 snaps in place of Bako-Bewele. The 6-foot-6, 336-pound tackle popped up as limited with an elbow on the estimated injury report Tuesday, but LaFleur said he anticipates Belton will play again Thursday after an encouraging relief appearance in New York.
"I thought he did a nice job," said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich of Belton. "Obviously, we kind of kept him over there (at right tackle during training camp). I didn't want to say that we knew this would happen, but just in case and unfortunately it did happen, and he stepped in and did a nice job. Expecting him to just anchor down the right side and do a great job."
Defensively, the Packers came through Sunday relatively unscathed aside from an ankle injury to defensive lineman Anthony Campbell, who was estimated as limited Tuesday.
While Franklin stepped up to offer a rallying cry this past Sunday, Green Bay's defensive captain acknowledges the long line of veterans in locker room that carry a similar torch.
The Packers will need all of them because the team undoubtedly will be tested again this season. Perhaps it comes as soon as Thursday night vs. Atlanta. To be a winning football team, it's up to every man inside the locker room to lift each other up.
The Packers did on Sunday and they won because of it.
"Shout out to the guys for rising to the occasion, making play after play, to give our team a chance to win," Franklin said.
"Thankfully, we were able to do that. Hopefully, we'll come out on Thursday ready to go from the beginning."
