LANDOVER, Md. — Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s offense stuttered, penalties piled up at the worst moments and the Packers lost their third straight game, 23-21 at the Washington Commanders on Sunday for their longest slide since 2018.
Rodgers had a sore thumb and was out of sync with the receivers. Rodgers was 23 of 35 for 194 yards and the Packers went for third place with 0 of 6. Green Bay (3-4) had just 232 yards of offense overall against Washington’s 364 and lost to Allen Lazard to a shoulder injury, making him the team’s third wide receiver to go down during coach Matt LaFleur’s first losing streak.
Rodgers finished the game face down on the turf after a failed last play that ended with him throwing a fling wide.
But trouble wasn’t just limited to offense: Amari Rodgers kept fighting, returning a punt that put Washington in the red zone, and cornerback Eric Stokes was flagged for a costly illegal contact penalty that included a touchdown and later a fumble return nullified unsportsmanlike.
The negatives outweighed the few positives: a 63-yard pick-6 by De’Vondre Campbell’s Taylor Heinicke and two touchdown passes from Rodgers to Aaron Jones — the second completing a 75-yard drive, aided by Washington penalties, the Packers drew within two with 3:26 in the fourth quarter.
Playing behind a redesigned offensive line without All-Pro left tackle David Bahktiari, Rodgers struggled to find a rhythm, at times missing wide-open receivers and others putting the ball in their hands for poorly timed drops.
The Packers had no third-down conversions for the first time since 1999 — 370 games ago and before Rodgers graduated from high school.
Washington’s front four also played a role in confusing Rodgers and making him look more like a rookie than a 38-year-old four-time NFL MVP. Only a series of penalties against the commanders (3:4) made the game tight in the final minutes.
Heinicke, making his first start of the season in place of the injured Carson Wentz, threw for two touchdowns and was 20 of 33 for 200 yards after starting with the interception 1 of 7 for 14 yards. One of those TD throws was a perfect pass for Terry McLaurin.
Heinicke also found McLaurin for a 12-yard finish in third and ninth just before the two-minute caution, causing “Terry! Terrycloth!” chants from Commanders fans, outnumbered by Packers supporters, who helped seal the team’s second ugly straight win. McLaurin beat top Green Bay cornerback Jaire Alexander on that game and his first TD catch since Week 1.
HELLO THE WHO?
Washington chose this as its annual “homecoming game” and welcomed dozens of former players who marched through the stadium and met with fans before the game. Among those in attendance: Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Art Monk and Super Bowl winner Mark Rypien.
Embattled team owner Daniel Snyder was not in attendance, but his wife Tanya spoke at a pre-game rally, which included video highlighting the 90 years since the franchise’s founding in 1932. Curiously, during her speech to the crowd, she referred to “Seven decades of fantastic football.”
She concluded her remarks by referring to the club’s old moniker, which was dropped in July 2020, saying: “Hail to the Redskins. And let’s beat Green Bay.”
INJURIES
Packers: LB Rashad Gary was checked for a concussion in the second half. … Bahktiari (knee) was inactive after being added to Saturday’s injury report. … Green Bay also without wide receiver Randall Cobb and reserve lineman Jake Hanson, who went on injured reserve.
Commanders: Rookie TE Cole Turner suffered a concussion while trying to make a catch late in the second quarter and was quickly shut out. … Rookie WR Jahan Dotson missed a third straight game with a hamstring injury.
NEXT
Packer: Visit the Buffalo Bills next Sunday night.
Commanders: Visit the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.
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