The Green Bay Packers are 10-3, so that’s good. There’s a realistic chance they could double up their win total from a year ago. A double-digit win total doesn’t happen by mistake.
But the NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and if the Packers continue to play the way they have been, they’ll be one-and-done in the playoffs. It would be a hard pill to swallow for a team that pushed a lot of its financial chips in for the back nine of Aaron Rodgers’ career. They have a prime opportunity to make some post-season noise, but can they?
For the second straight week, the Packers granted an NFC East basement dweller some free rent. The Packers wouldn’t evict the Washington Redskins until Mason Crosby connected on a 33-yard field goal after the Packers chewed up over seven minutes of game clock. The two-score lead wouldn’t hold as Terry McLaurin would catch a touchdown pass during the corresponding two-minute drill, but the game was more or less in the books at that point.
The Packers played quite well in two of the three phases today. The Redskins had a respectable yards-per-rush number (4.3), but a bulk of that came on a Derrius Guice 24-yard rush. Aside from that, the Packers’ defense held the Redskins’ offense in check.
As Aaron Rodgers said afterward, Sunday could be just another “ugly” win en route to a Super Bowl, but it could also be a stark reminder of why you want to be playing your best football in December.
Let’s cheers to the former.
Special teams turnaround
One of Brian Gutekunst’s attributes as a general manager has been his consistent churning of the bottom of the roster. This week, we’re seeing the benefit.
After watching Darrius Shepherd and Tremon Smith try and fail to give the Packers any juice returning punts, Gutekunst claimed Tyler Ervin this week. The results speak for themselves.
Ervin returned four punts for 51 yards (an average of 12.8 yards per return). The Packers were trending in the “historically bad” territory prior to Ervin’s work today. Ervin’s first return of 10 yards was the team’s longest of the season, illustrating just how putrid the punt return game has been up to this point.
Second-year punter JK Scott also continued his upward trend. After a nice game last week, Scott kicked the ball well again. Scott pinned two of his four punts inside the 20-yard line.
Mason Crosby was again a model of consistency, making both of his kicks, including the fourth-quarter game-sealing field goal to go ahead two scores.
Offense sputters again
Whatever the plan is on offense for the Packers, it’s not working very well.
Facing a bottom-third defense, Aaron Rodgers started out fast, getting the team to a quick 14-0 lead. Then? A whole lot of nothing.
The Packers reverted to their heavy shotgun formation and scramble offense to “get back on track.” After their second touchdown: Punt, Fumble, Field Goal, Punt, Punt, Field Goal.
Asked after the game if he’s concerned about the offense, Rodgers said he is not.
“I wouldn’t mind winning ugly all the way to the Super Bowl,” Rodgers said at his post-game press conference.
Rodgers finished 18 for 28 passing for 195 yards and one touchdown. As is tradition, Rodgers didn’t throw an interception, but he took four sacks, totaling 28 yards. On a day where Rodgers was averaging under 7.0 yards per attempt, it might have been wise for Matt LaFleur to keep the offense running through Jones, with the quarterback consistently under center.
The Packers are an enigmatic bunch, because some games – or stretches, rather – they look like they can compete with anyone. A few minutes later, they look like they can’t move the ball against anyone.
At their apex – the stretch that includes Philadelphia, Dallas, the first quarter against Minnesota and Oakland – the Packers fired on all cylinders, their offensive output indicative of a Super Bowl contender. But that hasn’t been the case since, perhaps, the Kansas City game.
At first glance, it appears that this team falls into its offensive morass when it settles into a spread-em-out, shotgun formation offense. The football isn’t delivered within the rhythm of the play, second-reaction plays are hit-or-miss, and any sense of tempo is lost.
The Packers face a stout defense next with the Chicago Bears, who are also suddenly receiving competent quarterback play. If the Packers can’t find their way out of this rut, they could be in for a rude awakening. Ugly or not, it would be wise for LaFleur to get the offense back in rhythm.
Defense makes life tough for rookie quarterback
The Washington Redskins had won back-to-back games going into this week’s matchup, but it’s hard to say that was because their offense inexplicably metamorphosed into a juggernaut.
It’s true that rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins has improved as of late, but the Packers did what they were supposed to do on defense. Early and often, Mike Pettine sent pressure into the face of Haskins. With a bum leg, Haskins struggled to maneuver the pocket after the rush moved him off his spot. Haskins already struggles to quickly filter through his progressions, so it was pleasing to see the Packers make his life uncomfortable. With the Packers applying the clamps well enough against the rush, Haskins had little else to work with.
The effort was led by the defensive line, including standout performances from Kenny Clark and, you guessed it, Za’Darius Smith. In total, Haskins was sacked four times. Clark is credited with 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits. Za’Darius Smith didn’t have a sack, officially, but he still recorded one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit. Even when he’s not filling out the stat sheet he’s making an impact on the game.
Adrian Amos also contributed with an interception late in the first half. Jaire Alexander, shadowing Terry McLaurin, more or less erased Haskins’ favorite target until late in the game with the Redskins down two scores.
