JORDAN REED

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Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins

Location: FedEx Field, Landover, MD

Kickoff: 4:30 pm Eastern Time

Line: WA -1.5

TV: FOX (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)

Radio:

Green Bay: WTMJ (Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren)

Washington: ESPN Radio WTEM 980 AM (Larry Michael, Chris Cooley, Rick “Doc” Walker and Sonny Jurgensen)

The 2015 NFL regular season has come and gone. In fact, it’s now 2016 and the playoffs are upon us. For the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins it’s been two totally different results as of late. The Redskins have been playing like they want to win the Super Bowl, while the Packers have limped into the playoffs after two straight losses by a combined total of 58-21. Aaron Rodgers and company just haven’t looked like the Green Bay Packers we’re accustomed to seeing year in and year out. Kirk Cousins on the other hand has been on fire for the Redskins. Since losing to the Dallas Cowboys in week 13, Washington won their final four games of the year with Cousins throwing 12 touchdown passes and only one interception in that span. Something has to give Sunday between these two teams and quarterbacks.

KEYS TO THE GAME: GREEN BAY PACKERS

First of all, the Aaron Rodgers led offense that has been inconsistent this season ever since coming off their bye week has to improve. The 23rd ranked offense in 2015 needs to put their regular season performance behind them and pretend that the playoffs is a fresh start.

Eddie Lacy had a down year in 2015 running the ball. He accumulated only 758-yards and three touchdowns rushing. Near the end of the season however, he started showing a glimmer of hope that he was turning his year around. In his final seven games, three of those were over 100-yards. Green Bay will need a good game from Lacy on Sunday against Washington’s 26th ranked rush defense.

For the majority of the season, Head Coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t in charge of the play calling. December 13th, he took the responsibility back and led the Packers to a 28-7 win over Dallas. Including that win, Green Bay finished the season 3-2 under McCarthy’s direction. If the Packers are going to have success against Washington, they will need to rely on the smarts of their coach and Aaron Rodgers to carry the team to victory.

KEYS TO THE GAME: WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Will Kirk Cousins continue the fantastic season he’s had for the Redskins in which he posted 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 101.6? He is facing a fantastic Green Bay pass defense that ranked 6th during the regular season. He will need a great game on Sunday in order for the Redskins to move past the Packers.

The Redskins rushing attack that ranked 2oth during the regular season consists of Alfred Morris and Matt Jones. Morris had a down season rushing for only 751-yards and one touchdown, while Matt Jones ran for 490-yards and three touchdowns. Between the two of them, they will need to step up on Sunday against Green Bay’s 21st ranked rushing defense.

Washington is looking to win their first home playoff game since 1991, when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round. This was the same season that they Super Bowl XXVI. They will need to use the home field advantage to their benefit if they want to get a shot at the divisional round this time around.

IMPACT PLAYER: GREEN BAY PACKERS

James Jones – Dating back to the beginning of the season when Jordy Nelson went down, the Packers signed free agent James Jones to come back home and play once again with his former friends in Wisconsin. It proved to be a smart signing even though he’s not the caliber of Nelson. Jones was the leading receiver for Green Bay this season hauling in 50 receptions for 890 yards and eight touchdowns. He is my pick for impact player for the Packers on Sunday.

IMPACT PLAYER: WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Jordan Reed – The Redskins star tight end had a fantastic season in 2015 which saw him make 87-catches for 952-yards and 11-touchdowns. Jordan’s 11 touchdowns ties Bobby Mitchell‘s record from 1962 for fifth most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in team history. Look for him to be Kirk Cousins’ go-to guy on Sunday in hopes of shredding the Packers’ defense.

PREDICTION:

Green Bay enters the Wildcard round on Sunday as the fifth seed after losing to to Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. The victory ended up giving the Vikings the NFC North title, the third seed in the NFC playoffs and a home game. Washington comes in with four straight wins that secured them the NFC East title and they look to be set at quarterback for the future with Kirk Cousins running things. With the way these two teams have been playing lately, it seems like an easy choice to say Washington will win this game, but if they do, it will be close. With that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a lot of points put up in this one, but we’ll have to wait until Sunday to see how everything unravels.

GREEN BAY – 31 WASHINGTON – 35

Ryan Cole is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter

Keith Allison-Flickr

Washington Redskins in playoffs? Hogwash! Who cares? It’s still the NFC East.

Let’s face it, most of us could careless who came out of the NFC East to represent in the playoffs, simply because the division has so little to offer. They have everything from crazy coaches who send away their best players, to GMs who want more control than a Skywalker using the dark side of the force.

There is even a player whose hand looks like that of a ninja turtle due to a lack of fireworks safety and yet he is still starting. These teams beat each other up all year long and every year it seems that the team that is 8-8 has a real shot at winning the division.

Can they go the distance?

In fact this year’s division winner is currently 8-7 with one game left and the division title. But can the Washington Redskins go the distance and win it all?

I am going to give you three reasons they can’t and then three reasons why the Skins will be the 2016 Super Bowl Champions.

Doubting Debbie says:

They don’t have an answer for AP
1. This division champ faces off against the Minnesota Vikings’ 5th ranked rushing offense in the wildcard round.
2. They have the 26th rushing defense, allowing 124-yds per game.
Ball security is a major issue
1. This is a team is tied for 6th in the league in fumbles with 24(11 lost).
This is a team with little to no playoff experience since 2000
1. They haven’t won a game in the playoffs since 2005.
2. They have only been to the playoffs twice since 2005

Oh but wait…

The deck is completely stacked against this team and nothing looks to be in their favor except:

The team currently has the best completion percentage in the league. Nothing helps move the chains better than having confidence in execution of the forward pass down the field. Kirk Cousins is going to make sure the “YOU LIKE THAT!?!?!” will be the mantra for the 2016 season.
Jordan Reed is playing like a man possessed. Kirk Cousins has managed to connect with Reed for 907-yds and 11-TDs on the season. Should this connection continue into the playoffs, there will be no slowing them down.
Iron sharpens iron
1. This team is potentially facing the 2nd (Seattle Seahawks), 4th (Carolina Panthers) and 5th (Arizona Cardinals) defenses in football. If they can outlast these tough matchups with firepower via DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed, the Lombardi will be theirs.

This can really go either way but based on the information above, it is easy to see why the people in Landover, Maryland are jumping around for joy in anticipation for the post season.

Jermaine Lockett is a Writer and CEO for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter.

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