Green Bay trying to improve playoff standing

Team currently holds No. 3 seed in NFC
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers did what was expected against the New York Giants in week 13, pulling away for a comfortable 31-13 victory.

The Pack finally returns to Lambeau Field this week, with a 3-9 Washington Redskins team coming to town.

The matchup is another one Green Bay is expected to win handily. Earning a W will help the team take another step toward locking down a playoff spot.

The Packers head into week 14 with a one-game lead in the NFC North after the Minnesota Vikings came up short against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night. The Packers, Vikings week 16 showdown looms in the horizon, but Green Bay also holds its own destiny when it comes to taking the division, so they remained focused on what’s directly in front of them.

“You just keep taking it week by week, and right now, I think we’re doing a great job understanding what we need to do every single week and adjusting each week to who we’re playing,” said Packers linebacker Blake Martinez, who leads the NFL in total tackles.

Martinez said the team would love to win the North, but also hopes to earn a first-round bye (which they’d achieve being the No. 1 or 2 seed in the NFC) so the team could play home games in the postseason.

Heading into the week, Green Bay’s 9-3 record has the team sitting with the No. 3 seed, which means it would need to play in the Wild Card Round.

The Seahawks’ win paired with the San Francisco 49ers loss bumped Seattle up to the No. 2 seed, while San Francisco fell to the No. 5 spot. Both teams are 10-2.

The New Orleans Saints are also 10-2, but hold the tiebreaker and are the current No. 1 seed. New Orleans is the only NFL team to have clinched a spot in the postseason already, winning the NFC South.

The 49ers and Saints face off in one of this week’s top games, while the Seahawks travel to take on the Los Angeles Rams, who are fighting to keep their postseason dreams alive. Minnesota will host the Detroit Lions.

While Green Bay would love to have the Lions and Rams pull upsets, the Packers need to handle their own business to stay in the mix for a top seed.

Despite what the win-loss record shows, the Redskins come to Lambeau on a bit of a roll. Washington has won two straight games and still has something to play for as its alive for a postseason berth because the NFC East is so weak.

“Everybody feels like they (the Redskins) have nothing to lose, but technically, they are still in it so they got plenty to play for,” said Packers receiver Davante Adams, who is coming off a two-touchdown performance against the Giants. “If nothing else, they got our postseason hopes and things like that to try to ruin.”

Washington’s defense hasn’t been the problem as it ranks near the middle of the league in a number of statistical categories.

The Redskins’ defense is similar to Green Bay’s in that the team excels in creating turnovers and sacking the quarterback.

Washington is ranked ninth in the league with 36 sacks on the season, including seven in a comeback win over the Carolina Panthers last week. The Redskins are tied for third in the league with 13 interceptions and have recovered six fumbles.

“They have a great front, they really get after the passer. I think they’re playing better on the back end the last three or four weeks for sure,” said Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“They have a couple really good runners (running backs Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice) on that side of the ball too so we’re going to have to stop the run, and start fast and offensively kind of get going early so we can make them a little more one-dimensional.”

Washington is arguably the worst offensive team in the league and is averaging just 14.4 points per game.

Last week against Carolina, Washington amassed 363 total yards, with 248 of those coming on the ground. Guice finished with 129 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 rushes, while Peterson had 99 yards and a score on 13 carries.

“Both running backs are amazing and right now, they can do exactly what they need to do in their run scheme. Tough tackles, can run outside the box, inside the box, catch passes and do a lot of things. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us and me as a linebacker,” said Martinez.

For a second straight week, the Packers’ defense will face a rookie quarterback. Washington will start Dwayne Haskins, the former Ohio State star.

Last week, Green Bay forced three turnovers against Giants’ rookie Daniel Jones and will be looking for more of the same against Haskins, who has thrown six interceptions and fumbled five times (losing just one) in six games played.

Winning the turnover battle and putting together another strong showing on offense should give the green and gold faithful plenty to cheer about Sunday, when the Pack go for win No. 10.

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