Penalties, quiet offense sees Packers lose third straight game

That’s not to say the first half didn’t have its bright spots. The Packers strung together 8 plays for 42 yards on their second drive of the game, ending with Aaron Jones finding the endzone on a short pass from Aaron Rodgers. De’Vondre Campbell also ripped away a pass from Taylor Heinicke and returned it 63 yards for the Packers’ second touchdown.

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TD for @Came_Along_Way! #GBvsWAS | #GoPackGo

FOX pic.twitter.com/fH19T4L0KE

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 23, 2022

The second half started just as dirty as the first. A defensive holding turned a third down for the Commanders into a first down. Heinicke would find Terry McLaurin a few plays later for a touchdown to give Washington its first lead of the day.

The Packers held the ball for less than 3 minutes in the third quarter, a 5-play drive that ended in a punt. The Commanders burned up nearly 9 minutes of the clock on their second drive of the quarter but only came away with a field goal.

The Packers failed to respond, then gifted the Commanders a trip to the red zone with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing drive. Washington extended their lead again with another field goal.

Green Bay was finally able to find the endzone in the fourth quarter when Rodgers found Jones, who was able to reel in a pass and stay in bounds. That cut Washinton’s lead to just two with less than four minutes to play, putting the onus on the Packers’ defense to get a stop and give the team a chance.

Another TD for @Showtyme_33!#GBvsWAS | #GoPackGo

FOX pic.twitter.com/5zFxszDwgv

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 23, 2022

They almost did, but Heinicke was able to complete a clutch pass on 3rd and 9 to all but seal the deal for the Commanders. The Packers got the ball back with less than 25 seconds to play, starting inside their own 20-yard line.

In previous seasons, fans might’ve held out hope that Rodgers could lead the team to a miracle. But this season has not been like previous ones. A last-ditch effort failed and sent the Packers home empty-handed.

It’s no secret, today’s game demands that teams score often. The Packers, who average just over 18 points per game and are near the bottom of the league in scoring, simply aren’t cutting it. Green Bay failed to score more than 7 points in the second half for the third straight week and the sixth time this season.

Rodgers completed 23 of his 35 passes on the day but averaged less than six yards per completion. He notched only 194 passing yards, his fewest this season. The running game was also held under 40 total yards, with Jones recording 23 yards on 8 carries.

Heinicke might be a backup quarterback, but he looked like a bona fide starter compared to Rodgers on Sunday, completing 20 of his 33 passes for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That included some big plays on third down.

The Commanders converted 7 of their 16 third downs while Green Bay converted none, the first time they’ve failed to convert a single third down since 1999.

The Packers now sit at a dismal 3-4, watching in horror as the Minnesota Vikings begin to build a lead at the top of the NFC North. Is there time to turn things around? Yes, but it will take a lot of work. And the road ahead is anything but easy.

Green Bay travels to Buffalo next week to take on a Bills team that, unlike the Packers, is living up to preseason expectations.

This is the first time the Packers have lost three straight games since 2018. It’s also the first time they’ve lost at FedEx Field since 2018. At the end of the 2018 season, Mike McCarthy was let go after 13 seasons in charge. Matt LaFleur has 10 games left in this season to right the ship and avoid a potentially similar fate.

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