The Packers elevated OLB LaDarius Hamilton from the Practice Squad (leaving Jonathan Garvin as a healthy scratch).  The inactive players were Christian Watson and David Bakhtiari, both due to injury, and Jonathan Ford, Jonathan Garvin and the newly acquired OL Luke Tenuta.  Tenuta was acquired on a waiver claim.  If he stays on the roster for the rest of the season, his cap number will be $470,000.  Rasheed Walker, Sean Rhyan, and Jordan Love were active but did not play.

One big story of today's game was the reshuffling of the offensive line.  The Packers inserted Zach Tom at left tackle, moved Elgton Jenkins to left guard, left Myers at center, moved Runyan to right guard and inserted Yosh Nijman at right tackle.  The line held up pretty well.  Aaron Rodgers was only hit one time (by Daron Payne) and was not sacked.  He was flushed a few times but the pressure was moderate. 

The Packers only ran the ball 12 times for 38 yards even though they were in the game at all times.  On the opening possession, Jones gained 8 yards around the right end, then he caught a short pass for 3, gained 4 yards around the right end, and then gained 2 more yards off right tackle.  That is 4 touches and 3 carries for 14 yards.  The 2-yard gain would be considered an unsuccessful play since it was 2nd and 6.  That set up a 3rd and 4.  Rodgers threw a pass right to Lazard, who just flat dropped it, forcing a punt.  Dinking and dunking is fine, but a small mistake too often kills drives.  Jones would end the half with 6 carries for 14 yards. 

The other big stories of the game were drops and penalties.  The Packers scored a touchdown on their next possession after getting good field position at the Washington 42.  Lazard caught two passes for 23 yards, Tonyan one pass for 6 yards, Dillon ran for 3 yards off right tackle (another technically unsuccessful run), Jones ran twice for 6 yards and Jones caught a 4-yard touchdown pass.  A holding penalty by Yosh Nijman set up a first and twenty.  Dillon ran for 7 yards around the left end, while an incompletion and a 7-yard pass to Jones forced a punt.  Jones lost 6 yards on the first play of the next possession.  Nijman's second holding penalty negated Jones' 6-yard gain and put the Packers in a 2nd and 25 situation.  After two incomplete passes, the Packers punted.  Tonyan held on the next possession, setting up 1st and 19, which led to another punt. 

The next possession was the first possession of the 2nd half.  It featured one 4-yard run by Jones off left tackle and several short passes as the Packers moved from their 25-yard line to the 47, but Doubs dropped a pass on 3rd and 2, forcing a punt.  That play was a microcosm of the day: Rodgers' pass should have been easy but he threw it low.  Doubs still should have caught it and gained the first down, but he didn't.  One can blame Rodgers' inaccuracies on several incomplete passes if you don't like Rodgers or you can blame the front office or the receivers for not helping their quarterback out: there is plenty of ammunition for both arguments.

Down 20-14, the Packers got the ball at their 25-yard line.  A 17-yard completion to Lazard, a 12-yard pass to Jones followed by a 5-yard run by Jones off right guard picked up a first down and overcame a Lazard penalty for an illegal formation.  An incompletion followed by Dillon getting stuffed for no gain up the middle led to a 3rd and 10.  Rodgers hit Amari Rodgers who turned it into a nice 9-yard gain.  However, Doubs dropped the 4th and one pass, and the Packers turned it over on downs. 

Down 23-14, Washington was penalized for illegal hands to the face on 3and 3 to keep the drive alive.  Washington committed another illegal hands to the face to keep the drive alive on 3rd and 6.  Rodgers threw a deep pass to Amari Rodgers but he could not come up with it.  Fans debated whether it was a drop or if Aaron Rodgers overthrew it slightly.  It did not end up mattering too much as an 18-yard pass interference call on Washington two plays later moved the chains again, and Rodgers hit Aaron Jones for a 21-yard touchdown pass.   The Packers got the ball back with 26 seconds left and no time outs.  After a completion to Watkins over the middle where Washington was playing soft, the Packers final desperation play failed to score.

The Packers played Jones most of the time with Dillon just coming in for relief.  The two running backs were only on the field together for two snaps, as that package has disappeared due to futility.  Deguara continues to only get a handful of snaps per game.  Lazard was shaken up and missed some snaps.  Toure finally got some snaps and caught his first pass.

The Packers held the Commanders to a three and out on their first and second possessions, but Amari Rodgers fumbled the punt and Washington recovered on the Green Bay 17.  The defense held and forced a field goal.  On the next possession, Devondre Campbell intercepted Heinecke and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown, putting the Packers up 14-3.  Quay Walker and Devondre Campbell were both very active.

Washington then put together a 14-play, 83-yard touchdown drive.  It featured some successful short runs and passes, and a 24 yard and a 20 yard run, both around right end.  The Packers got the ball at their own 25-yard line but a hold and a loss of 6 on a run by Jones pushed them back and led to Washington getting good field position at the Green Bay 43-yard line, assisted by a 5-yard penalty on Keisean Nixon.  Rashan Gary sacked Heinecke and forced a fumble that Rasul Douglas returned 62-yards for a touchdown, but the play was nullified by a dubious illegal contact penalty on Eric Stokes.  The Packer stopped two runs forcing a field goal, but it hit and upright and was no good.  

The Packers lost 2 yards on 5 plays in a drive that featured both teams committing penalties, and then the Packers forced another three and out.  The half ended with Green Bay up 14-10.  Quay Walker had 8 tackles (4 solo) in the first half with a quarterback hit and a pass defensed, as the Packers sent Walker several times on blitzes.  Campbell finished with 7 tackles (3 solo), 2 tackles for loss, and a pick-six interception return, all in the first half.  Washington rushed 19 times for 100 yards (5.3 average) but 44 of those yards came on the two long runs to the right edge.  That said, Washington was persistent with the run, and did not have very many negative plays.  The Packers held Heinecke to 7 completions on 19 attempts for just 39 yards, with 1 TD and 1 INT in the first half, good for a 44 passer rating.  The Packers almost picked off several more passes, and often got a hand on Heinecke without registering a sack in the first half.  Almost was the word of the game.  Washington ran 36 plays in 17:23 minutes while the Packers ran 24 in 12:37 minutes.

It all came crashing down in the second half.  The Commanders would score on their first three possessions of the second half.  The first drive was 5 plays for 74 yards and a touchdown.  Mixed in with some short runs and passes were a 16-yard run (again to the right edge) and a nice 37-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin with Jaire Alexander in close coverage.  The Packers could do little and the Commanders put together a long, 16-play, 72-yard drive with mostly moderate gains running (save for a 10-yard run off the right edge) and some moderate pass completions, but had to kick a field goal.

After the Packers turned the ball over on downs at the Washington 37, the Commanders again drove 61 yards in 9 plays.  The big play was a 26-yard completion to Curtis Samuel coupled with an unsportsmanlike penalty against Stokes, who had been in coverage, which moved the ball from the Washington 39 to the Green Bay 20.  Washington continued to pound the ball down to the 2-yard line but the Packers forced another field goal.  

Walker added 5 more tackles to finish with 13 (5 solo) and another QB hit, while Campbell added five more tackles to finish with 12 tackles (7 solo) and 3 quarterback hits.  Douglas finished with 10 tackles (5 solo) and 3 pass breakups.  Pro Football Focus suggested that Heinecke had 5 turnover-worthy throws, and the Packers almost converted more of them into interceptions.  PFF noted that Heinecke was under pressure on 17 of his 35 passing attempts.  The Packers finished with 9 quarterback hits but just one sack.  Preston Smith was close to getting a sack or two but Heinecke managed to wiggle his way out of them.  Gary left the game with a possible concussion.  Heinecke scrambled twice for 4 yards.  Washington ran the ball 19 times in the second half for 66 yards (3.47 average) but finished with 38 carries for 166 for the game, a 4.37-yard average.

On special teams, Amari Rodgers had a nice 16-yard punt returned but fumbled another.  The Packers gave up a 32-yard kickoff return and there were two penalties on teams.  O'Donnell placed two of his five punts inside the 20-yard line, and had one beautiful punt that pinned Washington back deep.

WR: 2.65

RB: 1.04

TE: 1.31

DL: 2.51

ILB: 1.73

OLB: 2.00

DB: 4.76