Green Bay Packers v. Washington: 3 Big Things & Quick Hits
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers remain up and down in the red zone
As has been well documented, the Green Bay Packers’ defense entered Sunday’s game without a red zone stop this season. That’s right, all 15 of their opponents’ red zone trips ended with touchdowns.
The silver lining is that Green Bay had allowed the fourth-fewest red zone trips per game, but even so, at some point, you have to make a stop–and apparently, that was on Sunday.
Washington made four red zone trips against Green Bay, and those visits resulted in only three points. The Packers would force two turnovers on downs, Chandon Sullivan would come away with an interception in the end zone, and on their last attempt, Washington settled for a field goal.
The Green Bay Packers offense, however, struggled after a good showing in Chicago. After being the top red zone offense in football last season, scoring a touchdown on 80 percent of their visits, the Packers entered the Chicago game ranked 27th and scoring only 55 percent of the time.
But against the Bears, they would find the end zone three times in four trips, and this included some creative play-calling as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t last, as the Packers were just 2/4 this past Sunday.
"“So, you’ve got to continue to evolve and just make sure that you have plays that are conducive to whatever the defense is going to give you,” said LaFleur prior to Week 5 via Sports Illustrated. “I think the one thing that is a little bit of a challenge for us at times is that teams are going to go a little bit off-script and give you some unscouted looks, and you’ve got to be able to adjust to those. Ultimately, it comes down to us just having plays that no matter what the look is that our guys can go out and execute.”"
As I’ve already touched on, both Rodgers and LaFleur agree that the offense is not firing on all cylinders quite yet, and without a doubt, the red zone ups and downs are a big contributor.
Quick Hits
– It’s been quiet starts to the season for both Robert Tonyan and Allen Lazard, but both were active in Sunday’s win. Tonyan came away with four receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown, while Lazard had a touchdown of his own and 60 yards on five receptions.
– Chandon Sullivan and Dean Lowry have been playing well as of late, and that continued against Washington. Sullivan allowed three receptions for just 17 yards and came away with an interception, while Lowry had five tackles and a sack.
– The offseason acquisitions of De’Vondre Campbell and Corey Bojorquez continue to pay off in big ways for the Green Bay Packers. Campbell was again effective against the pass and again led the team in tackles. Meanwhile, Bojorquez pinned the Washington return man along the sideline, had a 53-yard punt from his own end zone, and pinned Washington inside their own five-yard line as well.