Tag: Cincinnati Bengals

Raiders look for 3rd straight home win with Bengals coming to town

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sfgate.com photo: Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) is sacked by Oakland Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell during the second half of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019.

By Joe Hawkes

SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — With back-to-back wins at home, the Raiders look to finish off their three-game home stand at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with a win over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals as the two teams hook up for action in Week 11. This will be the first matchup between the two clubs since 2015, in a game that the Bengals won convincingly, 33-13 in Oakland.

Cincinnati currently holds a three-game winning streak over Oakland, with the Raiders last defeating the Bengals, 20-17, in Oakland back in 2009.

Kickoff for this battle in the AFC is at 1:25 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on CBS.

In Week 10, the Raiders defeated their AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-24, to improve their record to 5-4. Oakland sealed their second-straight victory at home behind rookie running back Josh Jacobs’ 18-yard touchdown run in the final minute of regulation. Jacobs finished with 71 yards on 16 carries and three catches for 30 yards in the game.

In the process, Jacobs became just the 16th player in NFL history to rush for at least 800 yards in his first nine career games per Elias Sports Bureau. Currently, Jacobs has rushed for 811 yards this season. His seven rushing touchdowns are tied with Arthur Whittington for second-most by a rookie in franchise history.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr recorded his 18th career fourth-quarter comeback, and his 19th career game-winning drive. Carr threw for 218 yards and one touchdown. On the Raiders’ final offensive drive of the game, Carr completed 6-of-8 passes for 57 yards that would setup Jacobs’ go-ahead touchdown.

But the real story of the game was the play of Oakland’s defense, who made life extremely difficult for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

For the second-straight game, safety Karl Joseph would make the game-sealing play, intercepting Rivers in the final seconds of the game.

Safety Erik Harris recorded two interceptions for Oakland on the night in the first-quarter, which included a 56-yard pick-six that extended the Raiders’ lead to 10-0. It was Harris’ second pick-six of the season.

Oakland registered five sacks on Rivers, with rookie defensive end Clelin Ferrell posting a career-high 2.5 sacks, and 1.5 sacks by defensive end Benson Mayowa. Mayowa now has a career-high seven sacks.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst each logged 0.5 sacks in the game.

Cincinnati (0-9) is coming off a 49-13 thrashing at the hands of their AFC North rival, the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10.

Rookie quarterback Ryan Finley made his debut for Cincinnati and had a game to forget.

Finley, who replaced franchise quarterback Andy Dalton after Dalton was benched during the team’s bye week, completed 16-of-30 passes for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception that was returned 89 yards for a pick-six by Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters that made the score 28-3 midway through the second quarter.

The loss to the Ravens were the Bengals’ 11th-straight loss dating back to the last season, tying the longest two-season losing streak in club history per Elias Sports Bureau. They’re one loss away from matching the worst start in club history.

Following Sunday’s game, Oakland heads east to New York to take on the Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 12, while the Bengals return home to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Conley to face old teammates this Sunday; Can Edebali get to the quarterbacks for Raiders?

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On the podcast with Joe Hawkes:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Gareon Conley will be facing his former team this Sunday as Gareon was dealt to the Houston Texans on Monday. What will it mean for Conley to face his old teammates this Sunday?

#2 Conley represents the third first round draft pick to be dealt by the Raiders in the last 14 months, which included former Raiders Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. Will Conley be a void much like Mack and Cooper were?

#3 The Raiders filled Conley’s spot with defensive end Kasim Edebali. Edebali (30) has eight sacks and 54 tackles with the New Orleans Saints between 2014-2016. In 2017, he had played the season without a sack and has played for the Broncos, Lions, Rams, Saints and Bengals during that time. Can he keep a roster spot with the Raiders?

#4 Taking a look at last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, there was little doubt the Raiders defense were almost nonexistent against Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers who had plenty of time to throw the football last Sunday.

#5 The Raiders complete their long six weeks and five games away from Oakland this Sunday against the Texans in Houston. Taking a look at the trip, how did the Raiders fare considering the grueling trip, which included a stop in London?

Catch the Oakland Raiders podcast each Friday with Joe Hawkes at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Simply put, 49ers put this one out of reach

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On the 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 The 49ers were all about the offense on Sunday in Cincinnati. The key quarter was when the 49ers got two touchdowns and pretty much put the Bengals away for the afternoon.

#2 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went 18-27 for 166 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Jimmy G was feeling it on Sunday, wasn’t he?

David Zizmor doesn’t miss a beat. Catch Dave each Tuesday for the 49ers podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers Win Huge 41-17; Start Season with Perfect Road Trip

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photo from sfgate.com: Marquise Goodwin #11 of the San Francisco 49ers runs for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on September 15, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

By Joe Lami

After not winning a single road game last year, the 49ers are off to a perfect start to their 2019 season. On Sunday, they impressively manhandled the Cincinnati Bengals 41-17 in their largest offensive road output since 2014 marking a complete 2-0 road trip.

The onslaught started early, as the defense quickly forced a three-and-out, giving the offense great starting field position on the first drive. The Niners easily capitalized as Jimmy Garoppolo found Marquise Goodwin wide open for a 38-yard score.

Garoppolo flashed what excited the faithful in late 2017 in a dominant performance, throwing three touchdowns on 17 of 25 passing for 297 yards. The Bengals challenged Jimmy G by trying to shut down his top target, George Kittle, but he spread the ball around incredibly well, finding three different receivers for scores and eight different pass catchers for receptions.

Rookie Debo Samuel led the way with five catches for 87 yards and his first career touchdown. Goodwin finished with three catches for 77 yards and a score, while Mostert got four balls out of the backfield for 68 yards and a score. Kittled finished with three catches on three targets for 54 yards.

Garoppolo had one throw he’d like back, throwing a terrible interception while targeting Richie James Jr. in triple coverage.

The passing attack was set up all by the rush, as the 49ers had their best rushing game under Kyle Shanahan, totaling 259 yards. Matt Breida was a monster, rushing for 121 yards on 12 carries, including one rush that reminisced Barry Sanders. Raheem Mostert carried 13 times for 83 yards, while Jeff Wilson Jr. came off the practice squad for ten carries, 34 yards, and two touchdowns.

On defense, the front seven was all over Andy Dalton, sacking him four times, while Kwon Alexander picked up his first interception as a Niner. They held Dalton to 311 yards, on 26 of 42 passes for two touchdowns. Dalton depended upon Tyler Boyd and John Ross as his two main targets, as both combined for 14 catches, 234 yards, and a score.

However, the Niners did lose Joe Staley with a broken left fibula in the win. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks, and it remains to be seen on whether or not he’ll be placed on the IR. After losing swing tackle Shon Coleman in the pre-season, the Niners may seek free agency or a trade to replace their all-pro left tackle.

At 2-0, the Niners now return home to host the 0-2 Steelers in their home opener. The Steelers lost 28-26 to Seattle on Sunday, very similar to Seattle’s 21-20 win over the Bengals in week one.

Join Joe for 49ers coverage each week and podcast commentary each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Carr breaks Gannon’s record in 30-16 loss to Bengals

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Photo credit: silverandblackpride.com

By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the Oakland Raiders are not able to put two wins in a row together at any time this season.

Joe Mixon ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Cincinnati Bengals to a 30-16 victory over the Raiders at Paul Brown Stadium.

With the loss, the Raiders have not won back-to-back games this season.

The win by the Bengals stopped their five-game losing streak, the third-worst slump in the 16 seasons under head coach Marvin Lewis.

Mixon scored on a 15-yard touchdown run with just 4:04 remaining in the game, gave the running back his second consecutive 100-yard game and the Bengals won for the first time since October.

The Bengals announced the attendance as 44,568 for their last home game of the season, as they achieved the second smallest attendance in the 19 seasons that the Bengals have been playing in Paul Brown Stadium.

Jeff Driskel, playing in place of the injured Andy Dalton went 14-for-33 for 130 yards with one touchdown and an interception.

Tyler Boyd caught four passes for the Bengals, as he gained a team-leading 38 yards for the now 6-8 Bengals.

Derek Carr went 21-for-38 for 263 yards with a touchdown, as he broke Rich Gannon’s team record for pass attempts without an interception.

During the 2001 season, Gannon threw 277 passes without an interception and Carr broke the 17-year old record with his 14th pass of the afternoon.

The streak almost ended on the Raiders’ first possession, as Shawn Williams dropped a pass that was thrown right to him.

Doug Martin led the Raiders in rushing with nine carries for 39 yards, while Jordy Nelson led the Raiders with six catches for 88 yards.

Jalen Richard caught five passes for 67 yards, and also carried the ball four times for nine yards in the 14-point loss, as the Raiders saw their record fall to 3-11 on the season and 1-6 on the road.

NOTES: Kelechi Osemele missed his second straight game with a toe injury and Gabe Jackson was unable to go, as he inactive due to an elbow injury. Former Massillon High School and Ohio State Buckeyes Defensive Back Gareon Conley suffered a concussion in the game and will be re-evaluated.

UP NEXT: After an eight-day layoff, the Raiders will return to the field on Monday night December 24, as the Denver Broncos come to the Coliseum. In their previous meeting on September 16, the Broncos defeated the Raiders 20-19 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.

Sloppy Raiders lose to Bengals in Cincinnati, 30-16

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

The Raiders were looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season but failed to do so, losing to the Bengals 30-16 on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

Oakland (3-11) is now 1-6 on the road this season.

Quarterback Derek Carr completed 21-of-38 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. It was the ninth straight game that Carr didn’t throw an interception in a game. But Carr almost did throw an interception in the first quarter on Oakland’s first possession of the game, but Bengals safety Shawn Williams dropped the ball.

In the game, Carr moved past Rich Gannon for the most consecutive passes without an interception (277) in team history on his 14th pass.

Gannon established the franchise record back in 2001.

But it took the Raiders six possessions to score their first touchdown of the game, a 1-yard pass from Carr to tight end Lee Smith in the second quarter with Oakland already down 17-0. Smith, who is known more for his blocking, has scored a touchdown in three-straight games.

Oakland’s first five possessions of the game went like this: punt, a fumble by Carr, punt, punt, a fumble by running back Jalen Richard inside of their own territory and punt. The Raiders lost both fumbles leading to 10 points for Cincinnati.

Behind a makeshift offensive line that was missing left guard Kelechi Osemele, Cincinnati applied pressure to Carr throughout the game, sacking him five times and hitting him seven times on throws. Star defensive tackle Geno Atkins had three sacks and defensive end Sam Hubbard recorded two sacks and a forced fumble.

Carr, who has eight fumbles on the year, lost a fumble for the sixth time this season, establishing a new career-high.

The Raiders finished with eight penalties for 90 yards.

With the Bengals keying in on Carr’s top target in tight end Jared Cook, Jordy Nelson was Oakland’s leading pass catcher Sunday finishing with six catches for 88 yards. Cook, who is in his 10th season in the league (his second in Oakland), had just two catches for 23 yards after catching seven passes for 116 yards.

Cook came into Sunday’s contest with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games is enjoying his finest season this year, with career-highs in catches (63), yards (848) and touchdowns (six) and could be headed to his first Pro Bowl.

Second-year Running back Joe Mixon had a big day for the Bengals (6-8), scoring two touchdowns in the game and rushing for over 100 yards for the second-straight week. Mixon rushed for 129 yards on 27 carries against the Raiders after rushing for 111 yards on 26 carries in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Before suffering a knee injury in the first half that would sideline him for the rest of the day, third-year wide receiver Tyler Boyd would eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.

Boyd finished with just four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown, but he became just the first wide receiver not named A.J. Green to record a 1,000-yard season — and not since Chad Johnson in 2009 — to do so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Green is currently on injured reserve with a foot injury.

Third-year quarterback Jeff Driskel struggled in his third start since taking over for starter Andy Dalton (hand), who is also on injured reserve. Driskel did find Boyd on a 7-yard score for the game’s first score, but finished 14-of-33 for 130 yards and an interception.

Next week, the Raiders return home to take on their AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve in what could be the final game ever for the Raiders in Oakland. 

The Raiders don’t have a signed lease to play at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for 2019.

Denver (6-8) fell to the visiting Cleveland Browns 17-16 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on Saturday.

Raiders are off to Cincinnati for matchup against Bengals on Sunday

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Raiders are seeking back-to-back wins for the first time this season, as they prepare to head East where they will face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 action. The contest will conclude the Raiders’ regular season schedule against the AFC North, as they are 2-1 against the division in 2018.

Sunday will mark just the first meeting between the two teams since 2015, and Oakland’s first visit to Paul Brown Stadium since 2012. In 28 meetings, the Raiders are 18-10 against the Bengals all-time, with Cincinnati winning the last two encounters.

Kickoff is at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Last week, the Raiders improved to 3-10 on the season, knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers from the AFC North, 24-21 in come-from-behind fashion in front of a frenzy crowd at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The Raiders wouldn’t be denied the victory as quarterback Derek Carr engineered an 8-play, 75-yard drive that was punctuated by touchdown pass to tight end Derek Carrier for the eventual game-winner after the Steelers missed a potential game-tying field goal from 39 yards away as time expired.

Carr finished the game with a blistering 122.4 passer rating after completing 25-of-34 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns. It was Carr’s 16th comeback victory in his career. No other player has more comebacks since 2014, Carr’s rookie season.

After a rocky start to the season in which he threw 10 touchdowns and a eight interceptions through Weeks 1-8, Carr has rebounded tremendously since throwing eight touchdowns and no interceptions since. Carr hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 261 attempts, the second most by a quarterback this season.

Tight end Jared Cook has been the Raiders most trusted playmaker this season.

Against the Steelers, Cook recorded his second-straight 100-yard receiving day, tallying 116 yards on seven catches. It was Cook’s fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season, which is second-most by a tight end this season.

In his second season with Oakland, the nine-year veteran is having his most productive season, with career-highs in catches (61), yards (825), and touchdowns (six). With three games left in the season, Cook has a chance to challenge Todd Christensen’s club record of 1,153 receiving yards by a tight end set in 1986.

Defensively, linebacker Tahir Whitehead recorded his first interception of the season for the Raiders and finished with 10 tackles (six solo). Whitehead now has 103 tackles for the season, giving him his third-straight season of at least 100 tackles.

With season-ending injuries to franchise quarterback Andy Dalton (hand) and superstar wide receiver A.J. Green (foot),  the Bengals (5-8), are a shell of themselves and currently are riding a five-game losing streak.

Cincinnati fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-21 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. in Week 14. Second-year running back Joe Mixon has been one of the lone bright spots for the Bengals this season and his game against the Chargers proved that.

Against the Chargers, Mixon carried the ball 26 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, giving him 866 rushing yards and six touchdowns this season. Barring major injury the rest of the season, Mixon should record his first 1,000-yard rushing season.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will return home to take on their AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve in what could be the final home game in Oakland for the Raiders.

The City of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the franchise this week for their move to Las Vegas in 2020. The Raiders don’t have a lease signed to play at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for 2019.

Sunday’s game against the Raiders will the Bengals’ home-finale, as they will finish up on the road in Week’s 16 and 17 against the Cleveland Browns and Steelers, respectively.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview: Road teams get it done

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

emblem from: sports-logos-screensavers.com NFL logo

If you’re like me, you have to love the single-elimination that is the NFL playoffs. One game to decide who moves on and who is packing up for a long offseason after a grueling 17 weeks (16-game) NFL season.

No disrespect to the NBA, MLB, and NHL for their playoff series’s where if you lose a game, its not the end of the world, but when you talk about the playoffs in any sport, in all honesty, the NFL playoffs is where its at.

The march to Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara starts Saturday with Wild Card Weekend and with some intriguing match ups, I hope you’re like me (a football die-hard), ready for the games to begin.

Since the NFL instituted the Wild Card round in 1978, only 10 teams have made it to the Super Bowl.

Out of those 10 teams, six have gone on to win the Lombardi Trophy (the 1980 Oakland Raiders, the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 2007 New York Giants, and 2010 Green Bay Packers.)

With all that said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the road teams get it done this weekend.

Kansas City Chiefs (11-5); 5th seed at Houston Texans (9-7); 4th seed –  Saturday 4:35 p.m. ET/1:35 p.m. PT – ESPN

Sure its been 22 years since Kansas City has won a playoff game (currently tied with the Detroit Lions for the most consecutive playoff losses with eight), but the Chiefs are arguably the hottest team in the NFL closing out the season with 10 straight wins.

Remember, people counted out the Chiefs when they were 1-5 and lost star running back Jamaal Charles for the season with a torn ACL.

Quarterback Alex Smith has played some of his best football for a Chiefs team that defeated the Texans 27-20 in Week 1 down in Houston. Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, two to tight end Travis Kelce in that game.

Kansas City’s seventh-ranked defense harassed Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, sacking him four times and intercepting the signal caller once.

Houston does have a dynamic player on offense in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who caught nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City in Week 1.

Hopkins had a career year with 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns (all Texans records), while becoming the only wide receiver in NFL history to have 100-yard receiving games with four different quarterbacks this season (Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, T.J. Yates, and Brandon Weeden.)

No wonder why Hopkins, along with teammate defensive end J.J. Watt (NFL-best 17.5 sacks), were selected as All-Pros at their respective positions.

This could be a close game, but the Chiefs look prime to snap its playoff drought.

Chiefs 24 – Texans 19

Pittsburgh (10-6); 6th seed at Cincinnati Bengals (12-4); 3rd seed –  Saturday 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT – CBS

These two AFC North rivals are meeting up for the third time this season after splitting two games during the regular season, each winning on the others’ home field.

Cincinnati won the AFC North, but are heading into the game with backup quarterback A.J. McCarron under center. McCarron will make his fourth start for the Bengals after coming in for starter Andy Dalton, who broke his thumb in Cincinnati’s 33-20 home loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 13.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis (0-6) is still seeking his first career postseason victory. If Cincinnati doesn’t win Saturday, will Lewis be patrolling the sidelines for the Bengals in 2016?

Just like Chiefs, the Bengals are on a seven-game losing streak in the playoffs (25 years to be exact.) In fact, Cincinnati is the only team in NFL history to have lost four consecutive opening-round games.

Sure with Dalton being out, Lewis does have a built in excuse, but the way coaches are being fired left and right in the NFL, Lewis’ chair is no longer hot, its got to be near nuclear.

Pittsburgh is led by two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who may have to win the game with his arm since the Steelers’ ground game has been decimated by injuries.

Starting running back Le’Veon Bell was loss for the season with a knee injury in Week 8, while backup DeAngelo will not suit up Saturday night after suffering an ankle injury in Pittsburgh’s 28-12 victory in Cleveland. Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman will share carries in the backfield.

It was Pittsburgh’s fourth win in five games to close out the regular season.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is a match up nightmare for any team. Brown finished tied with Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones with 136 catches, and second behind Jones with 1,834 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh’s defense, which hasn’t been as dominate this year as its been in years past, are an opportunistic bunch. The Steelers’ 48 sacks trailed only Denver and New England and their 17 interceptions were tied for sixth in the season.

In their last 16 trips to Paul Brown Stadium, Pittsburgh is 13-3.

As much as I want to pick Cincinnati, there is something that is telling me that Pittsburgh will continue its dominance in the Queen City.

Steelers 27 – Bengals 23

Seattle Seahawks (10-6); 6th seed at Minnesota  Vikings (11-5); 3rd seed –  Sunday 1:05 p.m. ET/10:05 a.m. PT – NBC

If there is one team that is the most dangerous in the playoffs, its got to be the sixth-seeded Seattle Seahawks.

We’ve become accustomed of seeing the two-time NFC champion hammer teams behind the deafening sound of the 12th Man at the CLink during their last two Super Bowl runs, but if there is a team that isn’t afraid of going anywhere and playing anybody with the stakes are at their highest, its Seattle.

Whenever you have a quarterback like Russell Wilson, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns, and rush for over 500 yards, and a take no prisoners defense headlined by cornerback Richard Sherman and free safety Earl Thomas, you definitely have a chance to win.

Running back Marshawn Lynch was ruled out for Sunday’s game after being listed as questionable throughout the week. Lynch missed Seattle’s final seven games of the season with a sports hernia.

“Beast Mode” is a big-time playoff performer, rushing for over 100 yards in six of his 10 career playoff games.

Seattle steamrolled Minnesota 38-7 on Dec. 6 thanks in large part to the NFL’s second-ranked defense limiting Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to a season-low 18 yards rushing on eight carries.

If Minnesota has any chance to win on Sunday, they will need more from the NFL rushing champion. With the temperature expected to be below zero at kickoff, Peterson is expected to get a lot of carries.

I’m not sold on Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Bridgewater tends to lock on his receivers and rarely takes chances down field and in the playoffs, you need a quarterback who isn’t afraid of throwing the ball and  Bridgewater looks like a deer in headlights.

Yes, Minnesota does have a good defense, but Seattle and Wilson with their championship pedigree will find a way to make a few more plays than the Vikings, who are hosting their first playoff game in six years Sunday.

Seahawks 27 – Vikings 9

Green Bay Packers (10-6); 5th seed at Washington Redskins (9-7); 4th seed –  Sunday 4:40 p.m. ET/1:40 p.m. PT – FOX

Wild Card Weekend concludes with what has to be the trickiest game to decipher when the Packers travel to Landover, MD to face the Redskins.

Which Packers team will show up on Sunday? The one that looked virtually unbeatable with a 6-0 start, or the team that went 4-6 down the stretch that saw Green Bay lose the NFC North crown to Minnesota at Lambeau Field in Week 17?

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers finished the season with his lowest completion percentage (60.7) since 2006, and his lowest passer rating (92.7).

Since Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 2010, Green Bay has lost thee of its last four playoff games. During that march to the Super Bowl, the Packers became just the fourth team to win back-to-back-to-back road playoff games.

Washington is playing with some serious house money with starting quarterback Kirk Cousins having his best season of his career.

Since Week 7, the fourth-year pro leads the league in completion percentage (72.4) and passer rating (119.1) to go along with 23 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Cousins is one of four quarterbacks to throw at least one touchdown in all 16 games this season, helping Washington win the NFC East.

I like the weapons that Cousins has at his disposal, in particular smooth tight end in Jordan Reed emerging as Cousins’ top target. In his last four games, Reed has been on a tare hauling 29 catches for 378 yards and five touchdowns.

This game could be a shootout as both teams’ defenses are nothing special to write home about. Green Bay is ranked 15th in the league in total defense, while Washington is ranked 28th.

Green Bay has to do a better job of protecting its franchise quarterback, who has been sacked 13 times over the past two games.

In the team’s most recent victory over the Redskins, a 38-20 victory at Lambeau Field for Green Bay, Rodgers shredded Washington throwing a career-high 480 yards and four touchdowns.

Green Bay has won five of their last six meetings against Washington.

Green Bay 30 – Washington 24

Stats provided by Elias Sports Bureau, NFL.com,  and STATS LLC.