Good, bad and ugly from Packers’ win over Redskins

Breaking down the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ win over the Redskins on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers improved to 10-3 and took over possession of the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ 20-15 win over the Redskins:

The Good

RB Aaron Jones: He powered the offense with 192 total yards, including a season-high 134 rushing yards and a team-high six catches for 58 yards. He also gave the Packers an early 7-0 lead with a 4-yard score, his 15th of the season, and he eventually drained the life out of the Packers’ visitors with a big, 25-yard catch and several first-down runs on a late scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Jones averaged 8.7 yards per touch. He remains the Packers’ most consistently productive weapon on offense.

Rodgers’ late completion to Jones: It was a top contender for the play of the game. Backed up on 3rd-and-14 in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers unleashed a perfectly thrown ball to Aaron Jones, who made a tumbling catch between a pair of defenders for 25 yards. The resulting drive lasted over seven minutes and ended with a field goal that put the Packers up 11. The game could have turned Washington’s way with a stop. Instead, the Packers bled the clock and extended their lead, thanks to an unlikely connection and an unreal throw into a tiny window from Rodgers.

DL Kenny Clark: Big No. 97 is coming alive to end the 2019 season. He produced 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. His solo sack was a terrific individual effort. He beat the initial block, beat another block behind it and then took down Dwayne Haskins with a devouring tackle in the pocket on third down.

PR Tyler Ervin: Finally, the Packers are out of the hole. A team that came into Sunday with -8 punt return yards got 51 yards on four returns from Ervin, the newcomer who was claimed on Tuesday. He confidently made catches on deep punts and wasted little time getting up field and gaining yards on Sunday. The blocking around him was terrific.

Fast start: The Packers forced three three-and-outs from the Washington offense, dominated field position and scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, providing a one-sided 14-0 scoreline after 15 minutes. It was exactly the kind of start the Packers wanted to create. It just didn’t last.

S Adrian Amos: The veteran safety delivered a sack that helped force a punt and an interception that took away a potential scoring opportunity before the half. He added seven tackles and two pass breakups.

The Bad

QB Aaron Rodgers: He missed two potential touchdowns on overthrows to Jimmy Graham and Aaron Jones. He fumbled away a scoring chance in the first half. He took four sacks, often held the football and failed to take advantage of a defense that eventually lost its best cornerback to injury.

The Ugly

The passing offense: The Packers averaged 5.2 net yards per passing play on Sunday. The number accurately reflects a disjointed and disheartening performance from a passing offense that has flashed elite-level play but remains stuck in a rut of inconsistency. A better offense would have taken advantage of the consistently short fields provided by the defense and special teams and daggered the Redskins in the first half Sunday. Instead, the Packers limped to the finish line, squandering chances en route to scoring six points over the final three quarters. The quarterback played poorly, the tight ends cooled off after a fast start and the receivers were almost invisible. Aaron Jones could only do so much. It’s going to be difficult to make a deep run in the postseason with a passing offense this inconsistent series-to-series, quarter-to-quarter and game-to-game.