No player wants to say it, but the Green Bay Packers are not a good football team. They were blown out by the Washington Redskins 42-24 on Sunday night at Fed Ex Field and the players say they have to watch the film to figure out what went wrong. It’s the same old story for the last four and five of the last six weeks.
Washington (6-3-1) rolled up 515 yards of total offense and used some huge fourth quarter plays to keep the Packers at bay.
Pierre Garcon’s 70-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter started things off. Jamison Crowder’s 53-yard pass play set up another Washington touchdown and Robert Kelley ran 66 yards up the middle to set up another score.
Kelley finished with 137 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 21 of 30 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 145.8.
Aaron Rodgers had a pretty good day himself, completing 26 of 41 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. His passer rating was 115.
Another slow start didn’t help the Packers, who ran a total of nine plays on their first three possessions and gained a total of six yards.
The Packers lost the turnover battle 2-0 and almost had a third on a Washington kickoff that landed and came to rest inside the five yard line. Packers returner Jeff Janis watched as the Redskins were descending on the live ball. Fortunately for the Packers, Richard Rodgers recovered for the Packers who had to start the drive at their own two-yard line.
Then on 3rd down, Rodgers found Jared Cook for 47 yards down the right sideline to get Green Bay out of trouble. But the Packers would fail to score on the drive when Mason Crosby missed a 36-yard field goal.
From there, the two teams traded touchdowns twice and the Redskins lead was 29-24.
The Packers had the Redskins stopped, forcing what seemed would be a punt on fourth and short, but Redskins coach Jay Gruden decided to go for it to keep possession of the ball midway through the fourth quarter. Cousins took sneaked the ball up the middle for a first down. It was a gutsy call and one that paid off for Washington.
While Clay Matthews return to the lineup netted the Packers just one tackle, tight end Jared Cooks return after missing six games was a positive for the offense.
Cook finished with 6 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown to lead the Packers in receiving. Cook did fumble the ball away in the fourth quarter, one of two Green Bay turnovers.
The Packers (4-6) fell two games behind the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North with six games left to play. But even if the Packers would win next Monday night at Philadelphia, they would still trail the NFC North leader by two games. The Vikings and Lions play on Thanksgiving Day, which means one of them will maintain their 2-game lead on the Packers.
The Packers will find out where they stand injury wise later today. The biggest departure last night came when Blake Martinez left in the second half with a knee injury. The Packers were already playing without starter Jake Ryan entering the game.
Demetri Goodson also left with what looked to be a serious knee injury and Kentrell Brice left with a back injury.
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy says the Packers are in a tough spot :09
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy asked if the Packers have enough healthy talent to turn it around :17