What time, what channel, and how to watch
The Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders squared off under the lights at Lambeau Field on Thursday, September 11, 2025, with kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET. The matchup aired exclusively on Amazon Prime Video—no traditional broadcast TV option—continuing the NFL’s streaming-first plan for Thursday Night Football. Al Michaels handled play-by-play with Kirk Herbstreit as analyst. Fans who weren’t streaming could still keep up with live updates and stats through the CBS Sports App.
If you were tuning in, you needed an active Amazon Prime membership to access the Prime Video stream. Pregame and postgame studio coverage framed the night, plus Amazon’s alternate viewing features and in-game analytics added more context for viewers who like numbers on the screen while they watch.
Here’s the quick setup for watching on Prime Video:
- Open the Prime Video app on your smart TV, streaming stick, game console, phone, or tablet. You can also watch on a desktop browser.
- Sign in with your Amazon account that has an active Prime membership.
- Find the “Thursday Night Football” hub or search for “Packers vs Commanders.”
- Start the stream, adjust your audio preferences, and turn on closed captions if needed.
Most modern devices support the stream, including smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Sony), streaming sticks (Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV), gaming consoles, and mobile devices on iOS and Android. If you ran into buffering, the usual fixes helped: update the Prime Video app, switch to a wired connection or sit closer to your router, close background apps, or restart the device. Prime Video also lets you pause and rewind, which is handy for rewatching key plays.
Pregame chatter built around two teams coming off strong Week 1 wins over division rivals. Green Bay blasted the Detroit Lions, and Washington rolled the New York Giants. That set up Lambeau as a stage for early momentum: go 2-0 and you’re not just feeling good—you’re tracking toward a fast start in a crowded NFC race.
Why this matchup mattered
This was an early measuring stick for two rosters with playoff ambitions. Green Bay leaned on Jordan Love’s steady hand and a familiar script at home: efficient throws, tempo, and a defense that tends to feed off the crowd. Washington brought intrigue with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and a perimeter playmaker who’s never hard to find in big moments—Terry McLaurin. The question hanging over the night: how would a first-year QB handle a primetime road stage at Lambeau?
Oddsmakers saw it tight but tilted toward the home team. The Packers closed as 3.5-point favorites, with a total of 48.5 points suggesting a game where both offenses could find a rhythm. For Green Bay, that meant protecting Love, winning early downs, and letting the play-action game breathe. For Washington, it meant keeping Daniels comfortable: quick reads, defined throws, and mixing in his legs to move the sticks without asking him to play hero ball.
Matchup notes framed the stakes. Green Bay’s secondary had to respect McLaurin’s vertical threat and willingness to win contested catches. Washington’s defense, meanwhile, needed to disrupt the Packers’ timing—crowd the short and intermediate routes, tackle in space, and avoid the penalties that extend drives. Red-zone execution loomed large. Both teams had shown they can finish; whichever side forced threes instead of sevens usually walks out happy in a game lined this closely.
There were also small battles inside the bigger one. Could Washington’s front set the edge and keep Love from getting clean bootlegs? Would Green Bay’s linebackers track Daniels on designed keepers and scrambles? Third-and-medium downs were the tells—if the Commanders stayed ahead of the chains, they could quiet the crowd and let Daniels build confidence. If not, Lambeau’s noise becomes part of the pass rush.
Beyond the tactics, the broadcast window matters. Thursday night amplifies storylines, and both teams have young cores that play well in spotlight games. A national audience gets a closer look at Love’s growth and Daniels’ promise, with McLaurin’s polish bridging the experience gap. The winner doesn’t clinch anything in Week 2, but 2-0 banks cushion and tiebreakers that are gold in December.
For fans, the takeaway was straightforward: if you wanted to watch live, Prime Video was the only place to do it. The setup is simple, the stream lives across almost every device, and the production now feels familiar with Michaels and Herbstreit guiding the night. Add in the odds, the setting, and the quarterback contrast, and it was a clean early-season test with real signal, not just September noise.