Packers 35 Washington 18: Game Balls & Lame Calls

FEATURE

Packers 35 Washington 18: Game Balls & Lame Calls

Jan 11, 2016

The Green Bay Packers will advance to the divisional round and get a rematch with the Arizona Cardinals after a convincing 35-18 road win over the Washington Redskins in their wild card match up on Sunday. It marks the third season in the last four that Green Bay has won a playoff game. In today's NFL, that qualifies as sustained success and while they're not championships that many of us feel the Packers should have more of, it's another step in the right direction for this season. Given what the Packers have gone through this year, winning a road playoff game after ending the season with two-straight losses is a pretty big deal.

After a very slow start and overcoming a 11-0 deficit, the Packers rose up and did something they have not done this season: dealt with adversity and with their backs to the wall, answered the call to rise up and win a big game. On this day, both the offense and defense played very well in stretches and the result was a good indication of just how well. This effort wasn't without noteworthy performances on both sides of the ball so let's get to those who stood out in today's game.

Game Balls

J.C. Tretter

Offensive linemen never get enough credit when they play well and get lambasted when they give up a sack or commit a penalty. Tretter's day didn't start off well. He committed a false start penalty that moved the offense back to near its own goal line. A play later, Tretter gave up a sack that resulted in a safety for the game's first score. Tretter started at left tackle in place of David Bakhtiari, which was a bit surprising considering that Tretter has not played much tackle at this level. Earlier this season, Tretter filled in at center for Corey Linsley and has also filled in a guard. He's more of an interior lineman, despite having come out of college as a left tackle. Many thought, after the failed experiment with Josh Sitton at left tackle last week, that Green Bay would slide Bryan Bulaga to left tackle and try Tretter on the right side.

Tretter followed up that horrible start with a pretty solid day. That ended up being the only sack of quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the day. Washington's pass rush isn't all-world by any means, but they did get after Rodgers at times. Tretter held up well and stared that adversity that I mentioned earlier square in the face. Next week against the Cardinals will be a very different story so it will be interesting to see what head coach Mike McCarthy does with his offensive line rotation.

Nick Perry

Perry had two big sacks on the day, including a fourth down play that was Wayne Larrive's famous "dagger" call. Perry tends to make plays in bunches and big ones at that. In the biggest game of the year, Perry showed up big. He's playing for his next contract, at this point. Green Bay didn't pick up his fifth-year option before the season and with top-tier performances in the postseason, Perry may be pricing himself out of the Packers' range to re-sign him. After today, it would seemingly be a positive thing if the Packers and Perry can find a way to stay together.

Mike Neal

Neal added two sacks of his own, one of which came just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. Neal has been an unsung guy on this defense that has played well all year long. His sack gave the ball back to the Packers and sucked any wind that was left in Washington's sails.

Randall Cobb

I called for Cobb to be a key player in this game if the Packers were to win. He caught the first touchdown of the day for Green Bay on a nice route and tough fight for the ball in tight coverage. Cobb would have had another touchdown if Rodgers had put the ball on him after he beat his man downfield. Cobb also added in some good production out of the backfield. While I'm not a fan of Cobb as a running back, he gives the defense something else to think about and have to game plan for. If Rodgers and Cobb stay on the same page, they may find themselves in a lot better place against Arizona than they were last time.

Adam Czech

Our teammate and brother Adam continues his epic battle with colon cancer and no doubt was sending some sound advice through his hospital television set during this game. Adam had a big surgery this past week and while it wasn't exactly everything we hoped for, it's merely one more step towards the ultimate goal. Simply put, cancer sucks. Fight on and know that we're all behind you in your fight!

Lame Calls

Datone Jones

No one really had a rough game so I had to find something to list here. Jones had a roughing the passer penalty and in today's NFL, those are more mental errors than truly egregious plays. Jones has to know where he's at and let up on the passer. The officials are looking for it and there's heavy emphasis on protecting the signal callers. The penalty came with the game well in hand for the Packers, but Green Bay doesn't want these types of things happening at crucial times in future games.

Fans chanting "You Like That"

Yes, we do like that and thanks for asking! It's easy to give this a lame call now because Washington didn't emerge victorious and hopefully this phrase goes away now. Some catch phrases stick and some don't. This one shall not.

Others to mention:

Micah Hyde had a tough day at the office, drawing the assignment of covering tight end Jordan Reed. Reed had nine catches and over 100 yards receiving. He's a tough draw for any defensive back and Hyde is not known for his coverage skills. A tough position to be in so I couldn't really give him a lame call. Hyde did also drop an interception later in the game, but then again there's a reason why he's not a receiver
James Jones led the Packers in receptions and once again, used his savvy to get open along the sideline. His catch over the middle early in the game was his best of the day, however. It seemed to provide a big spark to the offense that will hopefully carry on
Davante Adams had the touchdown catch and another big catch down the side before he left early in the second half with a knee injury. Adams says he thinks he avoided a major injury and will use this week to see if he is able to go against the Cardinals. It was the second week in a row that Adams contributed and made a bigger play. After being a no show all season long, Adams has stepped up in two very important games for the Packers
Aaron Rodgers is smiling and having fun out there. As a result, he's looking more like who we expect to see every week. Rodgers and McCarthy appear to be co-existing well and McCarthy is trusting Rodgers to run the offense in the no huddle mode. All of it led to the best offensive showing since week three
Can the defensive backs please get out of each other's way when there's a ball to be picked off? Not only are they not coming down with it, but they could possibly have gone for a score or two if they're picked cleanly.

On to Arizona. More tough sledding but you suit up and play who you draw and the Packers should be in a much better place in this game than last time!

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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts. You can follow him on Twitter here

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