Broken down further, the Seahawks rank second in offense, fourth in defense and third in special teams, making them the only team in the top five for all three phases of the game.
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Instead, the wild-card winners scored more points in a game than they had since September 28.
Rodgers and his teammates used that 10-play, 76-yard, 5-minute 39-second drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth – which was capped by a two-yard Eddie Lacy touchdown run – to take the wind out of the Redskins’ sails. The 2014 NFL MVP proved too masterful for the Redskins’ defense. Led by a confident Cousins and an improved pass rush, the Redskins rounded into their best form of the season and posted their first winning record (9-7) since 2012.
– Preston Smith, Redskins, sacked Aaron Rodgers in the end zone for a safety in Washington’s 35-18 loss to Green Bay. Four plays later, Reed hauled in a 24-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 11-0. Cousins, meanwhile, completed 29 of 46 yards for 329 yards and a touchdown. The stage gets bigger next Saturday night.
Generic points favored gives Green Bay a 25.2 percent chance at advancing and FiveThirtyEight gives them a 34 percent chance. Cobb and Devante Adams, who Rodgers dubbed as “Mr. January”, each caught a pass for a touchdown, and each one was due to Rodgers surgically carving his way through the Redskins defense. He threw for one touchdown, ran for another, lost one fumble and was sacked six times.
The turnover was turned into points when Mason Crosby nailed a 43 yard field goal with 2:54 to play in the the half.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17) pulls in a touchdown pass as Washington Redskins free safety Dashon Goldson (38) closes in during the first half of an NFL wild card playoff football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016. “You like that!” That’s the catch phrase coined by Cousins after a comeback victory earlier this season, and he heard it again, loudly, after scoring on a draw from 3 yards out early in the third quarter of his first playoff start, putting Washington ahead 18-17.
Teddy Bridgewater was 17 of 24 for 146 yards for the Redskins (11-6). There was a 30-yard run by Lacy from an I formation and a 22-yard burst by James Starks out of a “pistol” set with three split receivers.
The Redskins just about went up by two scores following the safety, but safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix knocked DeSean Jackson out of bounds at the half yard line.
A couple of dozen folks were gathered outside a stadium tunnel to greet Washington quarterback Cousins and other players from the home team as they got off a bus more than a couple of hours before kickoff for Sunday’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.
But after the loss to Green Bay on Sunday, reality hit.
And the Packers never looked back as they booked a showdown against the Arizona Cardinals. The Carolina Panthers go 8-0 after a win over the Green Bay Packers 37-29. He was also sacked five times.
Losing in the opening round of the playoffs is always a disappointing way to cap off a season. But that was against the Washington Redskins – the Cardinals pose a more hard threat.
No development was bigger than the emergence of Cousins. “We’re in the tournament, he has a lot of experience in these games and it’s important for him to go out there and ignite us, not just how he plays, but the way he plays”.
“You get in the postseason, everybody has an equal opportunity”, receiver James Jones said. “When we’re rolling, man, we’ve got a lot of weapons that you’ve got to defend”.
By the time the final gun sounded, FedEx had emptied and the Packers were all smiles heading to the locker room where Mike McCarthy beamed over a tough, road playoff victory.
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“Protection was better”, McCarthy said, per the Packers’ Twitter account.
