With both the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins coming off Week 1 losses against NFC foes, this game becomes bigger in regards to getting their seasons pointed in the right direction. The NFC is as competitive as it has been in a long time and getting into the playoffs is always decided by just a game or two.
Washington is coming off a Monday night loss to the Eagles 33-27, where they were completely man handled on the ground giving up 263 yards to LeSean McCoy and company.
The Eagles\' offensive line graded out incredibly well, according to Pro Football Focus. Jason Kelce (+4.8), Evan Mathis (+4.2) and rookie Lane Johnson (+4.2) were blasting open holes, moving the Redskins defenders strait back.
Robert Griffin III showed that he was rusty after recovering from major knee surgery this offseason by completing just five of 11 attempts for 53 yards in the first half. He looked skittish and jittery in the pocket which affected his mechanics, regularly throwing off his back foot causing balls to sail on and just cause his overall accuracy to be off. He improved some in the second half against Philadelphia’s prevent defense, but wasn’t as sharp as we saw last season.
Green Bay will be coming home to Lambeau Field after losing a tough one against the 49ers in San Francisco 34-28.
Colin Kaepernick picked apart the Packers\' secondary to the tune of 412 yards; the Packers couldn’t find an answer to stop him or Anquan Boldin. Boldin looked fantastic, consistently winning his matchups, coming up with clutch catch after clutch catch. In the end he totaled 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown. Vernon Davis also got open as he pleased versus the banged up secondary of the Packers as he caught six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
The first game of the season was rough on both teams but there were also some positive things to take away from each team.
When the Packers are on offense
Aaron Rodgers looked like Aaron Rodgers in Week 1; he consistently found Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley for big plays against a very good defense. He picked on Carlos Rodgers and Nnamdi Asomugha who graded out -1.7 and -1.2 respectively, according to PFF. While he pushed the ball down the field some he also relied on his receivers to make yards after the catch.
Look for Rodgers to target rookie David Amerson who held up well versus the Eagles only allowing one catch on four targets for eight yards, but hasn’t faced the passing attack like the Packers possess yet in his career. Mike McCarthy and Rodgers should also look to ways to create mismatches with Washington’s safeties. Both rookie Bacarri Rambo and E.J. Biggers graded out terribly according to PFF, scoring -4.3, and -4.0 respectively. The two combined for a total of six missed tackles. There were many times against the Eagles where they looked lost trying to cover and trying to tackle Eagles\' receivers and running backs. Finley should be able to exploit the weakness of the young safeties by either running routes up the seam or breaking their tackles after the catch. Nelson and Cobb should also continue to rack up yards in this contest. Michael Vick had guys running wide open all day in Washington’s secondary but he doesn’t have the accuracy to make them pay like Rodger’s does. I’d also expect James Jones to play better than he did against the 49ers; Jones was held without a catch (although he had one drop) but wasn’t really targeted that often by Rodgers.
Rodgers’ pass protection wasn’t too bad against the 49ers for the most part. Rookie left tackle David Bakhtiari did give up two sacks but when you take into consideration he was facing one of the premier pass rushers in the league in Aldon Smith, his debut could have gone worst. One of the sacks he gave up wasn’t necessarily his fault as he went for a cut block when Rodgers was supposed to get rid of the ball on a three-step drop but failed to do so. Don Barclay second year rookie free agent also faired decently all things considered. Things don’t get much easier for Bakhtiari or Barlcay they now matchup against Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. Kerrigan was one of the defensive stars on the field for the Redskins in Week 1, he recorded eight tackles, one sack and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown. It’s important the Packers know where he lines up on every play and provide help to the youngsters.
The interior of the line for the Packers is what was surprisingly not good. Josh Sitton clearly struggled with the switch to the left side grading out as a -4.0, according to PFF. Justin Smith gave Sitton all he could handle, drawing three penalties, two holding calls and an illegal hands to the face. TJ Lang didn’t fare any better also grading out at -4.0, he gave up a sack, a hit and two hurries. Both Sitton and Lang will need to fair better against Washington, although the Redskins D-line got pushed around in the run game they can still put some pressure on the pocket with linebacker blitzes from Perry Riley and veteran craftiest from Barry Cofield.
It was the same old story for the Packers when they tried to move the ball on the ground. Eddie Lacy was bottled up most of the game by a very good front-7 of the 49ers. Except for one drive in the third quarter it was tough sledding for Lacy, he looked a bit timid early and even fumbled the ball deep in their own territory. He slowly got better as holes were opening up where he could get ahead of steam; he also looked comfortable on a screen play that went for 15 yards. Things should be easier for them this week with Washington coming off a short rest and a total beat down up front trying to tackle McCoy. The Packers should look to establish Lacy first and work play action to take advantage they have with their receivers and the weak Redskins secondary.
When the Packers are on Defense
The Packers looked much improved on the defensive side of the ball last Sunday, which is a crazy thing to say when they gave up 412 yards passing. But with the return of Johnny Jolly and an emphasis this offseason of stopping the read option, the Packers\' run defense looked like a different animal. They only surrendered 44 yards to Frank Gore at a 2.1 yard average. They also bottled up Kaepernick to just 22 yards. The Redskins got down in points in their game and were forced to throw it more than they would have liked, Morris didn’t seem to have the same holes he had for most of last year only gaining 45 yards. It will be the Packers primary focus to stop Morris and make Griffin beat them throwing the ball.
Griffin didn’t look comfortable until the fourth quarter when the Eagles were in prevent defense, he was missing his receivers and never looked poised in the pocket. He was getting roughed up quite a bit despite a good showing from Trent Williams at left tackle. It will be important for Washington that Williams continues to play well this week when facing Clay Matthews. Matthews still looks to be the only guy on the Packers\' defense who can create any pass rush. If given time Griffin should be able to exploit a big weakness with the Packers defense, their secondary. Both Tramon Williams and Sam Shields play well but the same can’t be said for rookie Micah Hyde, M.D. Jennings, or Jerron McMillian. McMillian was awful missing four tackles and allowing Boldin to run free for much of the afternoon. If it wasn’t the safeties a step behind Vernon Davis or Anquan Boldin it was wide open holes in the Packers zone. This will have to be a major focus for the Packers this week. Look for the Redskins to try and create the same matchup problems with Fred Davis and Pierre Garcon. Things could get easier for the Packers with the return of safety Morgan Burnett who was a game time decision but just didn’t have enough to play last week.
Prediction
I think the Packers get off to a fast start this week and put together a solid performance. It will be imperative for them to stop the run and force Griffin to use his arm to beat them. Improvements should be made in the back end of their defense with film to study. I also think Rodgers will get clicking against some very inexperienced safeties for the Redskins while establishing some semblance of a run game. In what will be their home opener, I predict a 35-24 win for the Packers.