After slow start, Rodgers, Packers overwhelm Redskins 35-18

AARON RODGERS THREW two touchdowns as the Green Bay Packers bounced back from a slow start against Washington to complete a clean sweep for the road teams on wild card weekend.

The Packers finally got on the board, when Rodgers took advantage of a defensive substitution error by the Redskins defense by throwing a 12 yard touchdown pass to Cobb versus coverage from Redskin cornerback WILL BLACKMON.

Washington led 5-0 in the first quarter, but the advantage could have been larger.

Washington took an early lead when Rodgers was sacked by rookie Preston Smith in the Green Bay end zone to concede a safety.

If the rumors are true and the Washington Redskins do lock down Kirk Cousins, it would all but assure that Robert Griffin III is on another team next year.

As of halftime of the Washington vs. Green Bay Packers wild card playoff game, it’s the Packers who have the 17-11 lead. Washington QB Kirk Cousins, making his first career playoff start after a breakthrough season, was 29 for 46 for 329 yards. Starting running back Eddie Lacy was playing with a rib injury, backup Jason Starks hardly played and wide receiver Randall Cobb lined up some running back. “We just needed a game like this to get our mojo back, to get our confidence going”, said Rodgers. The Washington Redskins are rumored to be looking at locking down Cousins, with a price tag of at least $17 million per season and realistically even a bit higher than that.

Continuing to add to the drama of the weekend, the Steelers were able to edge the Bengals due to a pair of 15-yard penalties that led to the game-winning field goal. Some 72% of people responding to a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel poll think the Packers won’t win one playoff game, let alone three or four.

In the second half, the running game took over. He also ran for a three-yard touchdown. Adams left in the third quarter after hurting his right knee.

In the second half, Starks scored from 4 yards and Lacy from 2.

Green Bay already blew the chance to claim a fifth straight NFC North title last week when they lost 20-13 to the Minnesota Vikings, and some critics are predicting, with the form the Redskins are in, that the Packers’ postseason will be a short-lived affair. But once again Washington put their fans through a drive (6 plays) that resulted in no points.

To keep that momentum going into next season and beyond, Cousins said it’s important to “want to be where I am wanted, and you want to be with people who believe in you”.