Packers win ugly against Washington 20-15, move to 10-3
Sunday’s game wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but the only thing that mattered was that it was won. Early on, Green Bay got off to a 14-0 start courtesy of a Robert Tonyan touchdown catch and an Aaron Jones touchdown run early in the first quarter. Washington’s offensive line was manhandled upfront by Green Bay, as they allowed three total sacks before halftime. Washington got back into it before the half by scoring on a two-yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson with 3:44 to go. They would miss the extra point, making the score 14-6 Green Bay.
After converting a 4th and 5 at Washington’s 36-yard line with 1:05 left, Green Bay had the ball at the 27, Rodgers would end up getting sacked and fumbling the ball simultaneously, Washington recovered at their own 40-yard line. They wouldn’t end up capitalizing as QB Dwayne Haskins got intercepted on the fourth play of their drive (Adrian Amos, three-yard return), with one second remaining in the first half. The score then was 14-6 Green Bay at halftime.
Green Bay received the ball to start the second half, going down in ten plays while scoring a field goal, making the score 17-6 Packers with 10:08 left in the third quarter. After back-to-back punts, Green Bay scored again on a field goal, making it 20-9 Packers with 2:34 left in the fourth. Kicker Mason Crosby was 2/2 on the day (32 and 33 yards), making him 15/16 on field-goal attempts this season (93.7%). Washington ended up scoring late in the fourth making the deficit 20-15 after a successful two-point conversion. A failed onside kick was the nail in the coffin, giving Green Bay its 10th win on the year — their first 10-3 start since week 14 of the 2014 season.
This game was sloppy on both sides for both teams, in the end though, a win is a win. There are no style points in the NFL. Although Aaron Rodgers didn’t have his best game stat-wise (18/28 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and a 96.6 passer rating), he did get RB Aaron Jones involved out of the backfield, which was a definite plus. It’s become evident that Green Bay performs so much better as a whole when Jones becomes an intricate part of their offensive attack. He finished with a career-high in rushing yards (134), on just 16 carries (8.4 YPC), and 1 touchdown. He also caught 6 passes for 58 yards, which was good for 9.7 YPR. In total, he had 22 combined touches for 192 yards and 1 touchdown. Head coach Matt LaFleur made history after the win, becoming the first head coach in franchise history to win 10 games in his rookie season. Quite a milestone for him and the team as a whole. The win combined with New Orleans losing to San Francisco and Seattle falling to the Los Angeles Rams makes Green Bay the 2-seed in the NFC as of now — a very good spot to be with just three games left in the regular season.
Green Bay closes the year out with three NFC North foes (vs Chicago, @ Minnesota, and @ Detroit), all of whom are looking to spoil Green Bay’s postseason aspirations. Up next, week 15 against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field — the 200th overall game played in the rivalry. Chicago is coming off of a 31-24 win at Soldier Field against the Dallas Cowboys. They are still in the hunt for the wildcard at 7-6 so they have plenty to play for heading into it, as does Green Bay. Simply put, there’s no overlooking anyone in this league — especially divisional opponents this late in the year. It’s time to strap up and play ball — the fight is on, time to land three straight knockouts.
DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #ParkerMoes @ParkerMoes
