The last time these teams met was in 2019, when the Packers jumped out to a 14-0 1st quarter lead, then held on with some field goals to win 20-15. Prior to that, Washington won the previous two games in 2016 and 2018, but those were middling teams that finished around .500. This year's team doesn't seem anywhere near that good. With injuries and distractions mounting, this squad already looks like an also-ran at 2-4.

The Packers will be tempted to look past this game with a huge Thursday game looming against the Cardinals, who are the league's last undefeated team and look like legit title contenders. While you can never win a game just by showing up, the Packers should be confident and will probably be very careful with injured players this week. They've shown the ability to win with backups all year and WFT shouldn't pose much of a threat.

WHEN WASHINGTON HAS THE BALL

The on-field dysfunction for Washington starts at quarterback.

Ryan Fitzpatrick only made it 6 passes into the season before getting hurt and landing on IR.

Backup Taylor Heinicke took over. He's a great Cinderella rags-to-riches story, a nobody who came up big in the playoffs and earned a big contract. However, his play this year has fans calling for his benching in favor of former UDFA developmental prospect Kyle Allen.

Heinicke has been inconsistent throughout the year and could be without one of his biggest weapons this week, as Antonio Gibson, an explosive dual-threat running back, is listed as questionable with a fractured shin. Gibson has 3 times as many rushing yards as anyone else on the team and, even if he plays, won't be 100%.

Washington's offensive line has been a bright spot this year, but right tackle Sam Cosmi and right guard Brandon Scherff will both miss the game this week. Throw in the fact that their left tackle is Bears castoff Charles Leno, Jr and the picture gets even more grim for Washington.

Even if Preston Smith joins Za'Darius Smith on the bench this week, the Packers should be able to control the line. Kenny Clark has been dominant on the inside and Rashan Gary and Jonathan Garvin have looked great on the edge so far. Newcomer Whitney Mercilus could also get some snaps this week and possibly apply some pressure while settling in to the Packer system.

In the secondary, whatever patchwork lineup the Packers can come up with should be sufficient. If Eric Stokes can take on an ailing Terry McLaurin, the rest should fall into place. Kevin King and Darnell Savage are both questionable, but even without them,  the Packers missing should be able to contain an offense that ranks 21st in the league in scoring.

WHEN THE PACKERS HAVE THE BALL

If you thought the Washington offense sounded bad, wait until you hear about their defense!

No one has allowed more points in the NFL than Washington.

Sure, they have some talented players, and are much healthier on defense, but they just haven't done much. Chase Young is a big name with a ton of potential. He's winning a lot of his matchups, hasn't entered the upper echelon of the NFL's pass rushers just yet. On the other side, Montez Sweat is a solid pass rusher who is tied for the team lead in sacks with 3. Defensive Tackle Jonathan Allen (who also has 3 sacks to go with 14 pressures) has been their biggest disrupter and, with fellow defensive tackle Daron Payne, could give the Packers some challenges with inside pass rush since center Josh Meyers will miss the game.

It's possible that Elgton Jenkins fills in at center, but that would probably only happen is David Bakhtiari played. Given that he just started practicing this week and the Packers have a Thursday game, I'd be surprised if he plays. Instead, I'd look for the Packers to lean heavily on inside runs to neutralize the WFT inside pass rush.

The Washington secondary won't be forcing many coverage sacks, either. They're allowing opponents a 104.4 passer rating and seem to be running at a severe talent deficit. Safety Landon Collins has been taking snaps at linebacker as the flailing WFT defense looks for a way to get stops, which further weakens the back end of their defense. That should play well into the hand of Aaron Rodgers, who seems to be having a lot of fun on the field recently. He should be able to pick apart the field with his Adams and Cobb and really anyone else he decides to throw the ball to.

Here's the most telling stat: In 5 games this year, the WFT defense has allowed 22 touchdowns and forced 18 punts.

The Packers should be able to move the ball fairly easily against this mess.

OTHER NOTES

Preston Smith has never missed a game in his 7 year career... this could be a first

After a shaky outing two weeks ago, Corey Bojorquez unloaded one of the longest punts in recent memory last week - he is just so fun to have on the team

Jaylon Smith should be a little more settled into his role and this will be an interesting week to see how his snaps compare to Krys Barnes

The Packers had some miscommunication in the secondary last week against the Bears, but their inexperienced quarterback wasn't able to take advantage of it. Green Bay will try to iron that out against another low-end quarterback, but if they don't get it figured out, the Cardinals will blow it up against them on Thursday.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Washington has been on the low end of mediocre on the field, has key players out, and is dealing with mounting dysfunction off the field. This is a game where the Packers are heavily favored to win and should get a comfortable victory. Even with all their Packers injuries,  WFT doesn't have the talent or intangibles to compete on the road.

There's always a chance for an upset, but that chance feels pretty low this week. The Packers could blow out Washington, or grind out Washington, but the results should be the same either way.

Packers 33, Washington 18