PLAYER NOTES
–ILB Zach Brown did not participate in practice Wednesday. He has a strained left oblique muscle. Brown did play in the first two games.
–S Troy Apke (hamstring) did not participate in practice on Wednesday. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
–RG Brandon Scherff sustained a right knee injury in the Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He wore a brace at Wednesday’s practice and was listed as limited.
–LT Trent Williams hurt his knee in the Colts game on Sunday. He only missed one snap, but he was limited in practice Wednesday.
–RB Rob Kelley was placed on IR with a toe injury Monday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Samaje Perine. The second-year pro takes over for Rob Kelley as the primary backup to Adrian Peterson. Perine was Washington’s fourth-round draft pick in 2017 and saw significant playing time late in the 2017 season after Kelley and Chris Thompson went on injured reserve. Perine twice topped 100 rushing yards last year. Perine fumbled multiple times during preseason games this summer, however, and found himself buried on the depth chart and inactive the first two weeks.
GAME PLAN: The Redskins’ secondary struggled to communicate against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in a 21-9 loss on Sunday. Time and again players appeared confused about their roles in a man-to-man scheme and Luck used one pick play after another – all legal and uncalled – to exploit Washington’s defense.
The Redskins can expect more of the same if they play a lot of man-to-man against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Redskins insist their pass rush actually held up fine against the Colts, who made it a priority to get the ball out of Luck’s hands quickly and were often in second-and-medium or second-and-short situations.
Rodgers (knee) didn’t look like a player who was hurt against the Vikings last week. He wasn’t as mobile as normal, maybe, but the offensive line gave him time to make plays. The Redskins have to put pressure on Rodgers, who throttled them with an up-tempo attack in the NFC wild-card game two years ago to turn that game totally in favor of Green Bay.
Washington’s offense has to run the ball on first down as it did in Week 1 against the Cardinals or it can expect another long day. Quarterback Alex Smith took few shots down field, and when he did his receivers, especially Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson Jr., let him down with drops.
The Redskins were a horrendous 5-for-15 on third down in large part because they were so often in second-and-long situations. They reached the red zone just twice against Indianapolis, and one of those times they immediately took a sack to knock them back from the 20 to the 32. The one time they got inside the 10 they settled for a field goal. It was one of the worst offensive efforts of the Jay Gruden era.
Look out for Chris Thompson, who dominated the Cardinals in Week 1. There are few better third-down backs in the NFL. If the Packers do like the Colts did and sink into a Cover-2 defense for most of the game and take away any deep passes or balls down the middle to tight end Jordan Reed or slot receiver Jamison Crowder, then Thompson should be able to do damage in space.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Redskins TE Jordan Reed vs. Packers S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Beating the Redskins requires dealing with Reed when he’s healthy and on the field. Clinton-Dix had an interception against the Vikings last week and has the range to keep up with Reed, who has 10 catches already in 2018 for 103 yards and a touchdown. He was one of the few effective players on offense for Washington in the 21-9 loss to the Colts in Week 2.
–Packers LT David Bakhtiari vs. Redskins OLB Ryan Kerrigan. Bakhtiari had a brilliant game protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers against a stout Minnesota defense in last week’s 29-29 tie. Kerrigan, who had 13.5 sacks last season, has yet to record one through two weeks in 2018. Washington needs to get its pass rush going, especially against a hobbled Rodgers (knee).
