After two long weeks on the road, the Packers return to Lambeau in Week 7, hosting one of the most beatable teams they'll face the remainder of the season. Trap game? On the heels of a satisfying division win, playing in front of a familiar, home crowd and donning their throwback uniforms, this game will have all the makings for one.
They won't be in throwbacks, but Washington will look like a different team as well.
For a third straight week, Joe Barry's defense will face a quarterback they've never played before, with Washington's Taylor Heinicke prepared to make his sixth consecutive start in place of starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Packers have, however, faced Washington's head coach Ron Rivera plenty of times during his tenure in Carolina, going 3-2 in those meetings.
On Offense
Though partially a function of who they've played, Washington's pass defense is ranked dead last in the NFL versus the pass. Desperately lacking in the secondary, the unit has given up 29 or more points in each game since Week 1 and allowing a league-high 16 touchdowns through the air.
One player the Packers will have to account for, however, is second-year pass rusher Chase Young. And, in all likelihood, they will have to do so without veteran tackle David Bakhtiari, who returned to practice this week but is unlikely to suit on Sunday. While Young only has 1.5 sacks on the season, he's still Washington's best source of pressure when Aaron Rodgers drops back.
The Packers may choose to pick on rookie linebacker Jamin Davis, who Washington selected with the 19th overall pick in April's draft but has had his share of struggles thus far in the season. I expect plenty of pre-snap motion by Matt LaFleur in an effort to provoke confusion and indecisiveness from the rookie while opening up big running lanes for Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
On Defense
If you play fantasy football, you know that few NFL teams are more deplete of offensive talent than the Washington Football Team. Even so, Washington will try and use second-year back Antonio Gibson to establish the running game early, avoiding any kind of scenario where Heinicke has to win a shootout over Rodgers and the Green Bay offense on the road.
The one player that Barry and the defense will need to have on their radar during passing downs is third-year wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Drafted in the same year as his college counterpart and temporary pro teammate Dwayne Haskins, McLaurin faced the Packers as a rookie in 2019 and has continued to evolve as a big-play wide out ever since. He will be a handful for Eric Stokes, who, of the Packers' shrinking-by-the-day set of corners, is best equipped to silence the dynamic receiver.
The Packers aren't used to giving up points to this NFC foe at home: it's been nearly four decades (1983) since Washington has scored more than 20 points at Lambeau. If the Packers can avoid looking ahead on their schedule and succumbing to this trap game, plan for more of the same on Sunday.
PackerDay Prediction: Packers 34, Washington Football 13
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