GREEN BAY – Mike Pennel smiled at the memory.

The undrafted defensive lineman’s introduction to Mike Daniels came early in training camp, after Daniels had reviewed film of the rookie mini-camp. Daniels, a third-year defensive end, pulled Pennel aside and told the big rookie out of Colorado State-Pueblo that he liked what he saw on film, and to keep at it – and if he did, he’d play a long time in the National Football League.

It meant a lot for Pennel personally, and professionally. He learned quickly to watch Daniels work, and realized his teammate had an uncommon motor.

"He’s an up tempo guy," Pennel said earlier in the week. "Maybe the way he does things aren’t conventional, but he gets it done. And he’s definitely somebody you want to look after if you want a work ethic and what it takes to be a pro. He’s a little crazy but it’s all good you know what I mean?"

Daniels’ fast pace, the nastiness – the little crazy – was on display Sunday afternoon in the Packers came back from an 18-point first half deficit to beat the New York Jets, 31-24, at Lambeau Field.

The defensive end recorded a sack, had two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and five tackles as the defense ramped up its energy and production in the second quarter to help the Packers (1-1) outscore the Jets, 28-3.

"He’s kind of a rowdy guy; he kind of got everybody hyped and we just played like we’re supposed to play," Packers defensive tackle Josh Boyd said. "He made a lot of big plays for us tonight. He did a great job. He kept up inspired us to go harder."

When asked if Daniels is sort of the "mad man" of the locker room, Boyd couldn’t contain a laugh.

"Man, you know Mike D has a special personality. I just love it because he’s a guy who goes so hard and he gives you everything every week so we just kind of go on and go with him."

Green Bay needed someone to get the defense going after New York jumped out to a 21-3 lead on the strength of its running game and quarterback Geno Smith’s poise in both the option and pass game, as he ran for a score, passed for another, and directed an 80-yard scoring drive in the no-huddle that was capped by a Chris Ivory touchdown run.

A switch flipped after that, however.

The Packers defense forced a three-and-out, which led to a third Mason Crosby field goal and cut the Jets lead to 21-9.

The Packers tried an onside kick that failed, giving the Jets prime field position to add to their lead, but on 1st-and-10 from the Packers’ 27, Daniels plastered Smith on a pass attempt, not allowing him to step into his throw to tight end Zach Sudfeld.

Tramon Williams intercepted it at his own 3-yard line.

"I got back there, hit the quarterback, Tramon capitalized on it," said a subdued Daniels after the game. "It’s teamwork. It’s a team sport."

Williams could tell by the ball flight that Smith had to have been hit and "we needed the momentum to swing a little bit."

It did.

Aaron Rodgers then directed a 10-play, 97-yard touchdown drive to pull the Packers within 21-16 at the half.

The Packers offense needed two more defensive stops to start the second half before it got rolling again with an eight-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with the eventual game-winner, a 1-yard pass from Rodgers to Randall Cobb.

The pair then connected on the 2-point conversion, giving the Packers a 24-21 lead.

The Jets managed a field goal, only to see Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson on a pretty pump-and-go route that turned around New York corner Dee Milliner, and then he sidestepped a diving Calvin Pryor en route to an 80-yard catch and run for a 31-24 lead with just about two minutes to go in the third quarter.

"Jordy’s a technician," Cobb said. "That’s one thing that makes him great, his route running ability is beyond amazing. For him to be able to continue to do it and to find ways to get open and make plays, it just speaks volumes for the player he is."

Green Bay didn’t score again, but it didn’t have to – the defense held the Jets to just 46 yards in their final three possessions.

In fact, after Ivory’s touchdown early in the second quarter, the Jets only managed an additional 132 yards of net offense.

The ability of the defense to get the Jets off the field then aided the offense’s momentum.

"That’s what you want," Cobb said. "Whenever your defense and offense is playing hand-in-hand and working together and building off each other, that’s what we go for, that’s we’re attempting to do every series. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but tonight it did and we were able to make plays off of it both ways."

After a rough start in which he fumbled away the opening possession and finished the first quarter with an 81.2 rating, Rodgers threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns thereafter to finish 25 of 42 for 346 yards and 109.8 rating in leading the biggest comeback of his career.

"He just stayed the course," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "That’s how those games go. You play a tough defense, especially as talented as they are up front. They challenge you, they come up and take something away from you and it’s tough sledding."

With the Jets making a concerted effort to take away Eddie Lacy (43 yards), the primary focus became the pass game, and its biggest beneficiary was Nelson, who caught nine passes for 209 yards and one touchdown.

Rodgers said after the game Nelson’s not a "me" guy and true to form, the wide receiver couldn’t say if it was his best game as a pro.

"It’s fun, it’s enjoyable, it’s what I guess needed to be done to win the game," he said. "That’s all that matters. If it proves your worth, I don’t think that really matters at all. We want to gout and do our job. That’s all we want to do and we struggled early but everyone got on the same page and did it."

The Packers improved to 1-1, and begin a stretch of three consecutive NFC North division games next week in Detroit.

"Winning is always sweet, regardless of the final score," Rodgers said. "It’s never easy, even if it looks to be easier (or if) the score is lopsided. Today was a character-building win for us and our first win, so this season is still very young, but every win counts."

Worth noting

• Jarrett Boykin, who was held without a catch in week 1 against Seattle, caught one ball on Sunday and rarely saw the field following a drop in the red zone early against the Jets. Rookie Davante Adams saw more extended time, catching 5 passes for 50 yards.
• Inside linebacker Brad Jones, who committed several costly penalties last week, was inactive on Sunday. That pushed Jamari Lattimore into the starting lineup, and the third-year linebacker responded by making seven tackles.
• Mason Crosby set a Lambeau Field record with a 55-yard field goal in the second quarter. …  Nelson tied a franchise record with his fourth catch of 80 or more yards. … Rodgers moved past Bart Starr on the franchise’s all-time yardage list.