On Sunday against the Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones produced a game with over 180 total yards for the third time this season.

Unsurprisingly, the Packers are now 3-0 in those games.

Jones carried 16 times for a season-high 134 rushing yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for a team-high 58 yards, including a crucial 25-yard catch in the fourth quarter to help the Packers escape with a 20-15 win over the Redskins.

While the offense sputtered overall, Jones kept everything moving in the right direction. He had four touches on the opening touchdown drive, which he capped off with a 4-yard scoring run. In the fourth quarter, his 25-yard catch got the Packers out of a hole and set up a scoring drive of over seven minutes, which helped put the game away late.

It was a dysfunctional performance from the offense overall, especially considering the Packers’ dominance in field position, but Jones was once again a star.

“We’ve just got to keep getting the ball to our playmakers and figure out what’s going to work that week, and today was getting the ball to Aaron (Jones) in the run game,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said afterward.

Jones joined Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook and Mike Evans as the only four players with three or more games with at least 180 yards from scrimmage this season. He previously produced 180 or more yards against the Dallas Cowboys (182) and Kansas City Chiefs (226).

The Packers went up 14-0 in the first quarter but scored just six points the rest of the way. At times in the second half, the Packers ignored Jones and instead leaned on an inconsistent passing game that struggled to find any sense of flow on Sunday.

The Packers produced nothing more than a pair of field goals during the second half. They were 5-of-13 on third down and finished with just 167 net passing yards.

Rodgers said he wasn’t worried about the number of touches for Jones, who he believes is best suited to handle 20-25 a game. Jones had 22 on Sunday.

Winning ugly isn’t fun, but the Packers were fortunate to have Jones power the way to a 10th win in 13 tries.

“Definitely, and I feel like good teams always find a way to win no matter the style points, how good it is or how ugly it is,” Jones said. “They find a way to win and they’re thankful for those wins and go back and work on it.”

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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.

.@Showtyme_33's 1️⃣5️⃣th TD of the season (12 rushing, 3 receiving)!#WASvsGB | #GoPackGo | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/0OAGBHX847

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 8, 2019

Aaron Jones’ 15th touchdown of the 2019 season gave the Green Bay Packers an early 7-0 lead over the Washington Redskins on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Jones scored from four yards out to finish off a seven-play, 50-yard drive. The Packers got a three-and-out on defense and a 10-yard punt return from newcomer Tyler Ervin to set up the opening possession.

Jones ran twice for 10 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards. Aaron Rodgers completed 3-of-4 passes for 32 yards, including a 20-yard gain to Jimmy Graham on the first play of the drive. He also scrambled for 13 yards and a first down.

On the touchdown, Jones found a hole off the right side of the offensive line and powered his way into the end zone to give the Packers an early lead over the 3-9 Redskins.

Jones came into Sunday ranked third in the NFL in rushing touchdowns, trailing only Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook, who both have 12. Jones now only trails McCaffrey (16) in total touchdowns.

For an entire month, the Green Bay Packers found new and creative ways of getting the football to running back Aaron Jones in the passing game, especially down the field.

Then, defenses adjusted. The one-on-one matchups against linebackers went away, and the Packers couldn’t find a useful counterpunch. During the month of November, Jones caught exactly one pass for -1 yard.

Now, it’s on Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers to figure out new ways to get the ball to No. 33 as a receiver.

“Teams are playing him a little differently,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “We’re not getting a linebacker on him as we were for a few weeks. We have to keep finding ways of getting him the ball. He’s been a big part of the plan.”

During October, Jones caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three scores. He was a huge part of the passing game during a win in Dallas, and his big plays helped the Packers escape Kansas City with another big road win.

In back-to-back games against the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, the Packers schemed up opportunities for touchdowns on down-the-field throws for Jones. He dropped a sure-fire touchdown against the Lions but made amends a week later with a spinning touchdown catch in the end zone.

Against the Chiefs, Jones beat a linebacker one-on-one out wide for a 50-yard catch, caught a 67-yard touchdown on a tunnel screen, chewed up 17 yards on an angle route from the backfield and then sealed the game with a third-down conversion on a quick out against a linebacker. He finished with seven catches, 159 yards and two scores.

It appeared as if Jones’ ability as a receiver would be a foundational element of LaFleur’s Packers offense.

The rest of the NFL adjusted.

The Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers had no interest in letting Jones beat them as a receiver. Instead of slower linebackers in coverage, Jones got cornerbacks. All three defenses featured smothering underneath coverage.

The result was one catch on just four targets.

On Sunday night in San Francisco, the 49ers committed to playing matchup coverage with cornerbacks often taking Jones one-on-one when he split out wide. On one third down in the first half, Rodgers threw wide of Jones on an out-breaking route with a cornerback in coverage.

49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said the defense’s primary goal was to take away Jones, and they did. He ran for 38 yards and didn’t have a catch on just one target.

Rodgers said the Packers have to find ways of getting Jones the ball in space.

“I don’t think there is any magic recipe,” Rodgers said. “We have to get the ball to our playmakers. We have to make sure 33 is getting his touches.”

In baseball, hitters often face difficult transition periods when pitchers figure out specific strengths and weaknesses and adjust accordingly. It’s on the hitter to adjust to those adjustments.

The Packers are the hitter, and it’s now on LaFleur to find his own adjustments and help bring back Jones’ impressive playmaking ability in the passing game.

It was a night to forget for head coach Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, as the team suffered a 37-8 beat down at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in what was arguably the most important game for the team since the 2016 NFC Championship Game.

Seemingly nothing went right for the Packers offense – or the entire team, for that matter – but what stuck out most was LaFleur’s willingness, or lack thereof, to use running back Aaron Jones in the passing game.

Entering Week 12, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a league-leading 132.4 passer rating when targeting running backs, according to PFF. Rodgers had a 123.5 passer rating when targeting Jones and 131.9 rating when targeting Williams. Jones had the fourth-highest receiving grade from PFF entering Week 12, while Williams had the third-highest.

But for the second-straight game, Jones didn’t have a catch, and he only has one reception for -1 yard on four targets over the past three games combined.

Despite the clear and obvious lack of production from the Packers receiver group on Sunday night, LaFleur failed to pivot from whatever the coaching staff saw on tape leading up to the game, and continued trying to force a square peg into a round hole.

On a night where receivers Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard and Jake Kumerow caught four passes for 23 yards on 10 combined targets, Jones only saw one target, an incomplete pass on third down in the first half.

Rodgers had just 104 passing yards on 20 completions and 33 attempts, his lowest total since 2015 against the Denver Broncos where he posted just 77 yards.

Simply put, the offensive game plan from the Packers on Sunday was inexcusable, and Jones must be more involved going forward.

Aaron Jones in October: 22 catches, 280 yards, 3 TDs
Aaron Jones in November: 1 catch, -1 yard, 0 TDs

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 25, 2019

Sunday night’s blunder becomes even more staggering when looking at how the season started. In the first eight games, Jones hauled in 34 receptions (42 targets) for 355 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In fact, after the first eight games, Jones was the team’s leader in receptions.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Williams and Jones had a nearly 50/50 split in terms of snap share. Against the 49ers, Jones was on the field for 41-of-80 offensive snaps, while Williams was on the field for 39-of-80 snaps. More importantly, Williams was the go-to guy in the passing game, hauling in seven receptions on eight targets.

For whatever reason, Jones has failed to be involved as a receiver over the past several weeks. LaFleur stated last week that the team used the bye week as an opportunity to “self-scout.” Going forward, he’ll need to recognize that Jones needs to be one of the main focal points on offense, particularly in the passing game.

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