The Green Bay Packers‘ woes continued on Sunday night, as they fell to the Washington Redskins 42-24 at FedEx Field for their fourth consecutive loss.
Down 7-0 with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter after several three-and-outs, the Packers (4-6) finally found the end zone after a bit of magic.
On third-and-goal from outside the 10-yard line, Aaron Rodgers pulled off a brilliant pump fake to avoid the free rusher, and then ran out to his right. Rodger then threw a fast pass to Jordy Nelson in the back of the end zone.
The touchdown proved to be controversial: although Nelson cleanly caught the ball just in bounds, cornerback Josh Norman ran in and stripped the ball away from the wide receiver. The Redskins seemed to argue that Nelson did not maintain possession, although the officials ruled otherwise, and the score was tied 7-7.
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The Redskins later responded when Kirk Cousins threw a TD pass to DeSean Jackson. Green Bay has struggled this season. Rodgers averaged a terrible 3.8 yards per attempt against Washington’s defense.
The Packers still have no running game (paging Christine Michael, who was inactive four days after the team claimed him off waivers).
Coach Mike McCarthy’s end-of-half clock-management decisions backfired again, and Green Bay’s cornerbacks continue getting beaten deep.
At two games out of first place in the NFC North with just six weeks remaining, the Packers’ chances at playoff contention are now very slim.
“We had a rough start to the game — three three-and-outs,” Rodgers said. “It’s tough. We didn’t get going early. It would’ve helped our defense out if we could’ve got out to a better start.”
McCarthy’s propensity for calling timeouts with his defense on the field late in the first half cost him again. He called one with 2:39 remaining, after Mike Daniels stuffed running back Robert Kelley for a 3-yard loss on first down from the Redskins 25. Two plays later, Cousins hit tight end Jordan Reed for a 26-yard gain that led to Kelley’s 10-yard TD run with 39 seconds left before halftime.
“Defense, we didn’t stop ’em,” McCarthy said. “Our pass defense, we didn’t get off the field. It was touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal in the second half. I think that tells the story.”
The Packers will next visit Philadelphia on Monday, Nov. 28, while the Redskins (6-3) will visit the Dallas Cowboys in Thursday’s Thanksgiving matchup.
LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers passes the ball against the Washington Redskins in the third quarter at FedExField on November 20, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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