NFC Wild Card Match Up – Green Bay Packers vs Washington Redskins
Sunday Jan 10, 2:40 PM on FOX
-
The Green Bay Packers will travel to Washington this weekend to meet the Redskins in Sunday afternoon’s NFC Wild Card match up. The Vikings enter the playoffs on a 4 game winning streak while the Packers are coming in having dropped 2 straight.
The Green Bay Packers have had their ups and downs in 2015. The “Hail Mary” against Detroit came with a ton of controversy but it also gave the Packers the win that they needed to get in. Aaron Rodgers has had it rough. The once MVP quarterback was sacked 46 times and only completed 60% of his passes, the worst completion percentage of his NFL career as a starter.
The Washington Redskins however have a quite the ride in 2015. While the Redskins did not beat a team with a winning record this season, they did win the games they were supposed to. With out any starts from RGIII, the Redskins finished off the season 9-7 and are now the NFC East Champions. The hero? It was Kirk Cousins, that guy who threw for 4,166 yards and completed nearly 70% of his passes while yelling at the camera.
-A Closer Look
Green Bay’s troubles started off early when it was announced that WR Jordy Nelson (The Packers top receiver) would miss the entire season. That and a banged up Randall Cobb literally limited Aaron Rodgers from having a great year. So the Packers did what any smart team would do in that situation.. they ran the ball.
Green Bay averaged 4.2 yards a carry this year, they ran the ball 436 times (12th most in the NFL), and managed to get 1,850 yards on the ground (also 12th best in the NFL). On defense the Green Bay Packers ranked 15th overall, 21st overall against the run but they rank 6th against the pass.
The Packer defense gave up 227 passing yards a game as an average. They hauled in 20 interceptions, but the biggest stat has to be limitation of passing TDs. Green Bay only gave up 19 TDs through the air all year long, a feat that is tied for 3rd best in the league.
Hail to the Redskins, many thought the Cowboys would win the NFC East, others thought the Eagles would take it, and everybody else had the Giants. Nobody in their right minds thought Washington would be here, but that’s why they play the games.
Kirk Cousins just has a certain type of passion. Whether it’s on the field, on the sidelines, or even walking through the tunnel, Cousins has no chill. And somehow, through the play call and the quick decision making, Cousins has only been sacked 26 times this year. The Redskins have figured out that protection thing, 27 sacks total for 2015 is good for 4th best in the NFL.
Washington’s weakness is their defense, which ranks 28th overall. The Redskins defense gives up nearly 260 yards in the air per game. The Redskins defense gives up 122 yards on the ground per game. These are not good stats. The Washington pass rush is probably their main strength, they registered 38 sacks this year which has them tied for 14th best.
-The Match Up
I’m not quite sure how this game will go. If the Packers can keep a somewhat balanced game plan, they might be able to keep Aaron Rodgers clean. This means a lot of Eddie Lacy and a bunch of John Kuhn. Randall Cobb should also see a lot of targets against the Redskins secondary, I’m looking for Cobb to have a big games.
Green Bay will have to maximize their opportunities in the red zone on Sunday, because kicking field goals could leave the door open for another Washington miracle 4th quarter comeback.
On defense the Packers must get to Kirk Cousins, and they must get to him often. Shutting down the Washington RB known as Alfred Morris would also be very beneficial to the cause but cutting the head off the snake is more important. I would further assume that the Green Bay secondary will play with very little cushion, and will try to jam the Washington receivers at the line to further improve their chances at getting the sack count up.
The Redskins keys to victory are pretty simple. Don’t turn the ball over. Don’t make mistakes like taking a knee instead of spiking the ball. Run a lot of play action and maybe even some well timed bootlegs. This is Kirk Cousins playoff debut, don’t over complicate things and let him find a rhythm.
As for the Washington defense, I suggest they send the house, scratch that… send the whole block. Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers and he can turn into a Rolex when you give him quality time. Keep the pressure on Rodgers and hope for a turnover, via fumble, via interception, via anything.
-The Outcome
I have to go Green Bay all the way but I’m not 100% on that. The Packers have been here before, they have the Discount Double Check, they have a winning record, and the overall better defense. I see the Redskins needing much fortune to be victorious in this match up, but if the Redskins were to win this game, than yes… I would “like that.”
