The Green Bay Packers picked up Sunday where the Philadelphia Eagles left off at last Monday night by putting up 580 total yards of offense against the Washington Redskins. Led by one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay easily handed Washington their second loss of the season and improved to 1-1 on the year.
Looking to establish the ground game early with rookie running back Eddie Lacy, Green Bay handed off the ball to Lacy only to lose the running back for the game with a concussion after a helmet to helmet hit from Washington’s safety Brandon Meriweather. However, Meriweather would be knocked out of the game himself after attempting another helmet to helmet on Lacy’s replacement James Starks in the second quarter.
After Lacys injury, Green Bay continued to move the ball down the field into the red zone until two consecutive sacks by Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan stopped the drive. Green Bay would eventually settle for a field goal by Mason Crosby and go up 3-0.
After a quick exit to Washingtons opening drive, Aaron Rodgers was back on the field and again moving the chains. Although the Redskins were able to force a 4th and 3, Rodgers successfully completed a pass on 4th down for a 35 yard touch down to wide receiver Randall Cobb.
Washington attempted to bounce back with a drive of their own and appeared to do so after wide receiver Pierre Garcon caught a short pass and turned it into a 41 yard gain. However, the Redskins would run into a difficult decision of their own on 4th down in Green Bay territory. With starting kicker Kai Forbath out to due a groin injury, head coach Mike Shanahan elected to punt and not attempt a 51 yard field goal.
Green Bay would take over and again drive in Washington territory. Rodgers would eventually connect with wide receiver Jordy Nelson for a touch down but a holding penalty on Green Bay canceled the score. That however did not stop Rodgers and Nelson from connecting again and this time without a penalty to prevent the touch down. Rodgers would also throw for another touch down to tight end Jermichael Finely after another failed Washington drive increasing the score to 24-0.
The Redskins looked to get something going before the first half was over and running back Alfred Morris looked to do just that with a huge run for 32 yards. But once again Washington ran into a 4th down and were faced with another difficult choice. Electing to go for the first down, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III dropped back to throw and hit wide receiver Josh Morgan in the hands but the ball deflected off the hands of Morgan and intercepted by Green Bay.
Rodgers and the offense would take over and once again march down the field. Developing a rhythm with wide receiver James Jones, who failed to catch a pass in last weeks opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Rodgers was zoning in on another scoring drive as the half was coming to a close. Connecting again with receiver James Jones, Jones stretched out for the goal line but was hit by Washington’s corner back DeAngelo Hall resulting in Jones losing the ball out of bounds before it crossed the goal line. Washington would take over as the play was ruled a touchback.
The first half would come to an end with the Green Bay Packers leading 24-0 behind Aaron Rodgers first half performance of 335 passing yards and 3 TD’s. The Green Bay Packers would finish the half with 373 yards of total offense and a time of possession of 18:39. The Washington Redskins would only finish the half with 155 yards of total offense and a time of possession of 11:21 continuing their first half struggles. The Redskins had now been outscored by a combined 50-7 in their first half of their first two games this season.
The second half started with a quick three and out by Washington. During the punt, Redskins tight end Niles Paul would pick up a personal foul that gave that resulted in good field position for Green Bay after the penalty. Coach Shanahan was shown on the sidelines during the game angrily letting Paul know how unhappy he was with the penalty. Fortunately for Paul, Green Bay would go three and out after a sack by Redskins corner back Josh Wilson on third down.
Looking to finally get on the scoreboard, Washington managed to pick up a first down after starting with a 1st and 25 because of an illegal block by center Will Montgomery. The drive would again end scoreless as they had all day for Washington after a missed 50 yard field goal attempt by recently signed kicker John Potter. Rodgers would takeover and again throw another touch down pass to receiver Jordy Nelson for his second receiving touchdown of the day.
Washington would finally respond after a TD pass from QB Robert Griffin III to receiver Pierre Garcon was able to get the team on the scoreboard. The play was originally ruled short of the end zone but a challenge by Coach Shanahan would over turn the call on the field. Green Bay would come back with a score of their own before the 3rd quarter ended with a 32 yard run from running back James Starks.
Griffin III opened the 4th quarter with 25 yard completion to Garcon and would eventually connect with rookie tight end Jordan Reed for his second passing touch down of the game. Another touch down pass from Griffin III would soon follow on a pass to wide receiver Santana Moss. The touch down to moss was originally ruled incomplete until Shanahan challenged and won his second of the day for another touch down. Washington would try for a two point conversion to try and make it a two possession game, however they were unsuccessful on an incompletion from Griffin III.
Aaron Rodgers would then take the Packers down the field and eventually run out the clock after picking up a few first downs. Rodgers would finish the day with 480 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns en route to a 38-20 victory over Washington. Green Bay running back James Starks, who took over for the injured Lacy, finished with an impressive 132 rushing yards on 20 carries and 1 touch down. Starks also had 4 receptions for 36 yards receiving.
Washington hoped for a better performance in their week 2 matchup against Green Bay but showed little progress, if any, from their week 1 loss to Philadelphia. As the defensive secondary continues to struggle and the penalties pile up, Washington’s offense still seems to be the core of the problem. Until Robert Griffin III and the offense can sustain drives, look for the Redskins struggles to continue and the frustration to only grow.