The Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins will square off this weekend in a Week Three NFC match-up. It will be the 37th all-time meeting between the two teams, with the Packers holding a 20-15-1 advantage, including wins in six of the past eight match-ups dating back to 2001. In this article, we’ll take a look back at one of the biggest clashes between the two teams: the 2015 NFC Wild Card Game.
Green Bay Packers-Washington Redskins Match-Up Flashback: 2015 NFC Wild Card
In the 2015 NFC Playoffs, the fifth-seeded Packers traveled to Washington, D.C. to take on the fourth-seeded Redskins. This would be the 35th all-time meeting between the two teams, including the third meeting in the postseason. The Packers had started off the season 6-0 but limped their way to a 4-6 finish, ending the regular season with a 10-6 record and earning the top NFC Wild Card spot. The Redskins started a dreadful 5-7 but rebounded to win their final four games to finish the year 9-7, including victories over division rivals Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. 9-7 would be good enough for a first-place finish in the relatively weak NFC East, making the Redskins 2015 NFC East champions.
The game started off great for the Redskins, who sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his own end zone early in the first quarter for a quick 2-0 lead. That lead was extended to 5-0 and eventually 11-0 with 13:07 left in the second quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins to tight end Jordan Reed. But the Pack came storming back, as Aaron Rodgers marched his team down the field for scores on two consecutive drives. A 12-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Randall Cobb drew the Packers within four and a Mason Crosby field goal with 2:57 left in the first half made it an 11-10 game.
The Packers Take the Lead Before Half
After the Green Bay defense forced a three-and-out, Rodgers marched the Packers 60 yards on nine players, finding Davante Adams in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown with 0:33 seconds to play in the half, giving the Packers a 17-11 lead going into halftime. Despite blowing an 11-0 lead, the Redskins came roaring out of the gates in the second half, as Cousins drove his team 73 yards on nine plays to take the lead as he took it in himself for a three-yard score, giving the Redskins an 18-17 lead with 9:44 to go in the third quarter.
This lead would not last for long, as the Packers countered with a touchdown drive of their own capped by a four-yard touchdown run by James Starks, putting the Packers back on top 24-18 late in the third. Green Bay would add another touchdown, this time on a two-yard run from Eddie Lacy, plus a two-point conversion with 12:27 in the fourth to make it a two-score game. Crosby would tack on another field goal with 4:43 in the fourth, making it a 35-18 game and putting the game out of reach. 35-18 would end up as the final score, as Green Bay advanced to the Divisional Round to face the Arizona Cardinals.
Aftermath
Green Bay would go on to lose to Arizona in that Divisional Playoff, as an overtime thriller highlighted by a game-tying Rodgers Hail Mary would end in heartbreak as the Cardinals scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime. The following year, the Packers would lose to the Redskins 42-24 at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., in what would be Green Bay’s last regular season loss in the famous “run the table” year that saw them win the final six games of the season to win the NFC North after a 4-6 start.
The Redskins have not made the postseason since this loss, while Green Bay has won two postseason games, both against NFC East teams, since this victory. Green Bay’s last four postseason victories have come against the likes of NFC East teams, including the Cowboys in 2014, the Redskins in 2015, and the Giants and Cowboys in 2016.
