Game Recep – Green Bay Packers at Washington Commanders

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October 24, 2022

By Noonefromtampa

First Half

Washington won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Packers picked up 17 yards and one first down on their first possession behind Aaron Jones‘s rushing and receptions offrom Aaron Rodgers. Allen Lazard was unable to catch a quick slant on third and four, forcing a Pat O’Donnell punt which went out of bounds at the Washington 3 yard line.

On the Commanders’ first series, Brian Robinson picked up 3 yards on an off tackle run on first down. The Packers challenged an apparent Curtis Samuel completion for 3 yards and the challenge was upheld and ruled an incompletion. Taylor Heinicke threw deep down the sideline to Terry McLaurin into double coverage and the pass was incomplete. A holding penalty on Tress Way‘s first punt forced a re-punt. Green Bay ended up with the ball at Washington’s 42 yard line after a 16 yard return by Amari Rodgers.

Never give Aaron Rodgers a short field. Two passes and Lazard for 11 and 12 yards put the Packers in position for a 4 yard Jones touchdown run.

Antonio Gibson returned the kickoff to the 30 yard line to give Washington much better field position. Heinicke threw behind McLaurin on third down to force another Way punt. However, Amari Rodgers muffed the punt and Percy Butler recovered for the Commanders. Washington was able to pick up a first down with a trick play with Armani Rogers at quarterback, and Samuel way able to run the ball inside the 10 yard line. The drive stalled after that and Joey Slye kicked a 22 yard field goal.

On the next series, a holding penalty set the Packers back on first down, which Green Bay could not overcome. They punted the ball back to Washington. On the next drive, Heinicke complete a pass to Samuel for 14 yards.  On third down and five, Heinicke threw a pick 6 interception to De’Vondre Campbell who returned it 63 yards for the touchdown.

On the following drive, the Commanders were able to pick up a first down thanks to three straight plays to Robinson for 13 yards. Another pass to Samuel was almost intercepted again. Gibson then ripped off a 20 yard run to the right outside with a shoestring tackle saving a potential touchdown. Washington then faced a third and one behind runs by Samuel and Robinson. Heinicke completed a 6 yard pass to McLaurin for the first down. Robinson scampered 24 yards behind a Samuel block. The ball came out at the end, but the ruling was down by contact. Green Bay challenged the ruling, but the call was upheld, so Green Bay lost its ability to challenge call the rest of the game. On third and eight from the 9 yard line, Heinicke hit Gibson on a nice throw between two Packers for the touchdown. Slye converted the extra point.

On the Packers’ next drive, Montez Sweat tackled Jones for a 6 yard loss on first down; then, the Packers picked up their second holding call on second down. The Packers, with 25 yards to go, had incompletions on second and third downs. After the O’Donnell punt on third and six, the Commanders got another huge break. Heinicke scrambled but was hit from behind and Green Bay picked up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. However, the Packers defense was called for illegal contact on Gibson, negating the touchdown and giving the Commanders a first down. Washington was unable to pick up another first down and Slye hit the right upright with his 47 yard field goal attempt.

Then, Jamin Davis dropped Jones for a five yard loss on a first down pass, which led to the two-minute warning. Rachad Wildgoose got called for defensive pass interference to give the Packers a first down. Green Bay got called for holding on the next play, to cause a first and 19.  Lazard caught an 8 yard pass, but Green Bay had incompletions on 2nd and 3rd downs, which forced a punt.

Washington got the ball back with 1:23 to go in the half.  J.D. McKissic picked up four yards on first down, and on second down Heinicke threw a deep pass to Cole Turner which was broken up. Turner was injured on the play and Washington had to use its last timeout. A third down pass lost three yards, which forced Way to punt. The 67 yard punt was downed at the one yard line. However, Green Bay almost got a huge break when the officials ruled Christian Holmes touched the ball first after going out of bounds, which would have resulted in a touchback since it happened inside the 5 yard line. Upon further review, Percy Butler was the first to touch the ball and the play was ruled legal. Green Bay was forced to run one play from their own 1 and A.J. Dillion picked up 5 yards to end the half.

Green Bay 14, Washington 10

Second Half

Washington’s first series of the second half began with a 4 yard pass to Dax Milne and a defensive holding penalty to give Washington a first down. Samuel picked up 16 yards on a jet sweep. After a short run by Robinson, Heinicke hit Rodgers for 9 yards and another first down. At that point, the excitement we saw last year from Heinicke appeared. Heinicke hit McLaurin on a 37 yard go route over Jaire Alexander, who had single coverage. The result was a touchdown for the Commanders and their first lead of the game.

On Green Bay’s first series of the half, they were able to pick up 22 yards and one first down. However, on third and two, Kamren Curl swatted the ball out of the tight end’s hand to force an incompletion. The Packers punted the ball to the Washington 15 yard line where Milne fair caught the ball.

Following two 4 yard pickups by Gibson, Heinicke scrambled and hit Rodgers for a 17 yard gain. After two running plays lost 1 yard, Samuel caught an 11 yard pass to pick up the first down.  The Commanders got another first down behind two Robinson runs of 8 yards and 4 yards. Another challenge came after a Heinicke pass was ruled a fumble which was recovered by John Bates.  The challenge was successful, saving Washington a 13 yard loss. Gibson then picked up 11 yards around the right end. The drive petered out at the Green Bay 13 yard line where Slye converted a 31 yard field goal to add to Washington’s lead.

The Packers opened their next offensive drive with a 17 yard completion to Lazard. Jones picked up 12 yards catching and 5 yards running to give Green Bay another first down. Amari Rodgers picked up 9 yards after two that gain zero yards. On 4th down Kendall Fuller broke up a pass Romeo Doubs to force a turnover on downs.

After a Heinicke sack and short Gibson run, Washington had a third and 8. Heinicke hit Samuel on a crossing route, and he picked up 26 yards. Green Bay was then called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which added 15 yards to the play. Cam Sims picked up 12 yards resulting in a first and goal from the 7 yard line. Washington was unable to push it in and settled for a 19 yard Slye field goal, pushing the lead to 23-14.

When the Packers got the ball back, Washington got them into a third and two, but Benjamin St-Juste was called for illegal hands to the face to give Green Bay a first down. Amari Rodgers caught an 11 yard pass for another first down. Then, twice more on third down, Washington committed penalties to give the Packers first downs. Another illegal hands penalty call and then a defensive pass interference call on Fuller which put the ball on the Washington 21 yard line. Rodgers scrambled left on the next play and found Jones down the left sidelines for a 21 yard touchdown. That cut the lead 23-21 Washington ahead.

On the next drive Washington mixed runs by Robinson and huge catches by McLaurin to pick up first downs. McLaurin caught a 14 yard pass on second and six and then an even bigger 12 yard catch on third and nine. However, McLaurin went out of bounds, which stopped the clock. Washington was not able to pick up the first down to run out the clock. After Way’s punt, Green Bay had twenty-three seconds to move into field goal range. Sammy Watkins caught a pass for 28 yards over the middle but only 5 seconds were left on the clock when the Packers spiked the ball. The next play was another throw over the middle followed by a number of laterals, the last one being from Rodgers which went out of bounds, ending the game.

Washington 23, Green Bay 21

Game Thoughts

Taylor Heinicke and his mobility completely changes the offense and enables the team to move the ball better even with mediocre line play. He did show a lot of rust in the early part of the game, throwing short and behind players, including the pick 6. His final stats 20/33 for 200 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Antonio Gibson had a good game running a catching, getting the go-ahead touchdown.

Armani Rodgers played a lot with so many tight end injuries and he showed that he can develop in a good player.

J.D. McKissic was strangely absent most of the game.

The defense held the Packers offense in check most of the game. The biggest issue was too many penalties giving Green Bay too many free first downs. The secondary would have a good play only to follow up with a mistake.

That seems to be the epithet of this team: good times, bad times, you know I’ve had my share… [Some Led Zeppelin for our friend Kelly in PA who is battling cancer.]

If the Commanders had a quarterback who could consistently hit the open receivers this team would be so much better both offensively and defensively.