Washington at Green Bay Game Capsule

From various sources

WASHINGTON (2-4) at GREEN BAY (5-1)
DATE/TIME: Sunday, 12:00 p.m., CDT
NETWORK: FOX
OPENING LINE: Packers by 8½
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Washington 1-5; Packers 5-1.
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 21-16-1.
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Washington 20-15 in Green Bay on Dec. 8, 2019.
LAST WEEK: Washington lost 31-13 at home to Chiefs; Packers beat Bears 24-14 in Chicago.
WASHINGTON OFFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (19), PASS (24), SCORING (21)
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (17-T), PASS (21), SCORING (15)
WASHINGTON DEFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (19), PASS (32), SCORING (32)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (13), PASS (4), SCORING (13)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Washington minus-2; Packers plus-4.

WASHINGTON PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Taylor Heinicke grew up idolizing Brett Favre, so playing at Lambeau Field means something to him. Heinicke has nine touchdowns and six interceptions since replacing injured starter Ryan Fitzpatrick in the season opener, and the coaching staff needs him to be more precise throwing the ball.

PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown 12 touchdown passes with only one interception during the Packers’ five-game winning streak. The reigning MVP also has run for a touchdown in two of Green Bay’s last three games.

THREE QUESTIONS:

1. How healthy will Washington's weapons be?

Antonio Gibson and Terry McLaurin have been the stars of this offense since Washington spent third-round picks on them in consecutive drafts, but their availability and effectiveness are in question for Sunday.

Both missed practice on Wednesday and were limited on Thursday, neither Gibson (shin) nor McLaurin (hamstring) were very effective when they played through their injuries last week. Gibson picked up 44 yards on 10 rushes and did not catch either target while McLaurin reeled in just four of eight targets for a season-low 28 yards.

Beyond them, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (quad) and wideout Dyami Brown (knee) were limited in practice, and big free-agent signing Curtis Samuel (groin) and Logan Thomas (hamstring) remain out.

Washington already has a below-average offense and will have trouble keeping up with Green Bay on the road if Heinicke doesn't have an effective array of skill position players.

2. Can Green Bay's veteran additions bolster the defense?

While Washington has been decimated on offense, Green Bay has struggled to stay afloat on defense. 

Specifically at linebacker, the Packers lost Pro Bowler Za'Darius Smith (back) 18 snaps into the season, and Chauncey Rivers landed (knee) on the IR in early October. Preston Smith will see his streak of 102 straight regular-season games to open his career come to an end after suffering an oblique injury last week.

Green Bay did bring in former Pro Bowler Jaylon Smith, but the Cowboys released him midseason for a reason. After sitting out a week, he only appeared in 17 snaps against the Bears this past Sunday and didn't record any counting stats. The latest addition is former Texans first-rounder Whitney Mercilus, who has three sacks through six games this season, but it's unclear if he'll be available after signing on Wednesday.

Regardless of who suits up, the Packers will need to shore up a unit that ranks 23rd in defensive DVOA and 26th in adjusted line yards.

3. What happened to Washington's pass defense?

If Green Bay's defense needs to improve, Washington's is in major need of a wake-up call. After finishing third in defensive DVOA last season, Washington is down to 29th in 2021.

Perhaps the biggest fall-off has come on pass defense, where the team has fallen from second to dead last. There haven't been any major departures — apologies to defensive backs Ronald Darby and Fabian Moreau — so this fall is a bit inexplicable.

One potential explanation is that Washington's defense may not have been as good as the stats indicated last year. Just look at the quarterbacks they faced. Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson are undoubtedly good, but they also faced Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones, Andy Dalton, Ryan Finley, Ben Roethlisberger, Nick Mullens, and Nate Sudfeld.

However, with so many first-rounders on the defensive line, they should be rushing the passer better. They rank just 24th in adjusted sack rate (5.8 percent), but a 26.8 percent pressure rate (10th) indicates that improvement could be on the way.

Going up against Rodgers will be a major test, but they'll need to show improvement quickly to take a run at one of the three wild-card spots this season.

KEY MATCHUP: Packers offensive line vs. Washington defensive line. Washington’s starting defensive line features four former first-round draft picks in Chase Young, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat. But even with those guys up front, Washington ranks just 20th in the NFL in sacks per game and is last in the league in scoring defense and pass defense. Washington must put pressure on Rodgers to have any shot at pulling the upset.

INJURY REPORT:  WASHINGTON: OUT: OL Sam Cosni (ankle), WR Curtis Samuel (groin), G Brandon Scherff (knee), WR Cam Sims (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: RB Antonio Gibson (shin), CB William Jackson (knee), DE Shaka Toney (illness). GREEN BAY: OUT: T Dennis Kelly (back), C Josh Myers )knee). QUESTIONABLE: S Darnell Savage (concussion), LB Preston Smith (oblique), CB Kevin King (shoulder).

SERIES NOTES: The Packers have won their last five home matchups with Washington. The last time Washington won at Lambeau Field was in 1988… Washington has won two of the last three overall meetings in this series. Green Bay lost 42-24 in 2016 and 31-17 in 2018 at Washington before wining 20-15 at Lambeau Field in 2019… The Packers won 35-18 at Washington in an NFC wild-card game on Jan. 10, 2016.

STATS AND STUFF: Washington has lost two in a row… Heinicke was 24 of 39 for 172 yards, a TD and an INT against Kansas City… Counting the wild-card round of the playoffs last season, Heinicke will be making his seventh career NFL start… RB J.D. McKissic would get the bulk of the work if Gibson cannot play. Rookie Jaret Patterson is next on the depth chart… McLaurin has at least four catches in each of the first six games this season… Seals-Jones has nine catches for 99 yards and a TD since taking over for injured starter Logan Thomas… Young had 1 1/2 sacks over his past two games after getting none in his first four… LB Cole Holcomb had 10 tackles and a forced fumble against the Chiefs… CB Kendall Fuller and S Bobby McCain intercepted KC QB Patrick Mahomes last week… Washington cut longtime K Dustin Hopkins after his second missed field-goal attempt of the season and replaced him with 26-year-old Chris Blewitt, who has never kicked in an NFL game… This is the Packers’ lone home contest in a five-game stretch. They won at Cincinnati and at Chicago the last two weeks. They follow this game with consecutive trips to Arizona and Kansas City… This is the third straight year that the Packers have won five of their first six games… Packers WR Davante Adams leads the NFL with 668 yards receiving. His 46 catches put him in a tie for first place with Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams and Tyreek Hill of Kansas City… Green Bay is 15-2 in regular-season home games during Matt LaFleur’s three-year coaching tenure… Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy played for Washington from 1977-84 and was a co-captain from 1980-84… LaFleur was Washington’s quarterbacks coach from 2010-13… Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry had the same job with Washington from 2015-16.

NFL WEEK 7 SCHEDULE
(All times CDT)

Thursday, October 21
Cleveland 17, Denver 14

Sunday, October 24
Atlanta 30, Miami 20
Carolina 3, N.Y. Giants 25
Cincinnati 41, Baltimore 17
Kansas City 3, Tennessee 27
N.Y. Jets 13, New England 54
Washington 10, Green Bay 20
Detroit 19, L.A. Rams 28
Philadelphia 22, Las Vegas 33
Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 38
Houston 5, Arizona 31
Indianapolis 30, San Francisco 18

Open: Buffalo, Jacksonville, L.A. Chargers, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota

Monday, October 25
New Orleans 13, Seattle 10

Thursday, October 28
Green Bay at Arizona, 7:20 p.m.