The 2015-16 NFL-NFC second Wildcard game on Sunday the 10th of January 2016 bring together the 10-6 Green Bay Packers (NFC-North) playing at the 9-7 Washington Redskins (NFC-East) with the game being played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland with the kick-off scheduled for 4:45 PM ET and seen on FOX TV.
The fans that Bet on NFL football at SBG Global and the likes, see that the Redskins are slight favorites at -1 with the Over/under at 45 and -120 on the Money Line, while the Packers are slight underdogs at +1 and EV on the ML.
The Redskins came into these playoffs with a 4 game win streak ending their regular 2015 season and now host the struggling as of late Packers. At home for Washington is important since they play best on home grounds, but they face the Packers and QB Rodgers who have a world of experience in wildcard playoffs.
The fans of the 10-6 Green Bay Packers were surprised at the poor performance by their Pack as they got routed 38-8 by the Cardinals in Week 16, then in Week 17 they lost on their home field to the Vikings of Minnesota 20-13. Their QB showed signs of wildcard struggle since in the Arizona game his QB rating was 9.3 and the following week against Minnesota it was 33.7
Not only did QB Rodgers struggle but also their s’RB E. Lacy rushed in those 2 games for a total of 93 yards, while J. Starks had just 35 yards in the same games and also lost a fumble. However, in this game they may standout since the Redskins defense has been allowing the opponents some 4.9 yards on each carry and 123 yards each game rushing.
If the Packers can move the ball on the ground, that would relieve some of the pressure off QB Rogers, and he could be more effective with the passing wildcard game since the Redskins pass defense has allowed 260 yards each game and during the season 30 TDs. Plus QB Rodgers has plenty of wildcard talent in his receivers of J. Jones, R. Cobb and TD R. Rogers.
WR’s Jones and Cobb have combined for some 1.720 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns this season. Their TD R. Rodgers has also been a good target for QB Rodgers as he has scored to date some 8 touchdowns on receptions.
The defense for the Packers will attempt to shut down the Aerial game of the Redskins with their talented pass rushers in LB’s J. Peppers with 11 sacks and C. Matthews with 7 sacks this season. In the ultimate 3 games LB Peppers has 4 sacks and in their last season game LB Matthews sacked Vikings QB Bridgewater. These 2 LB’s should have a good game if they can get past the strong offensive line of the Redskins, as Washington to date have given up just 27 sacks on the season that ranks 4th in the NFL.
If you’re a fan of the 9-7 Washington Redskins you know your QB K. Cousins set their franchise record for yards passing with some 4,167 yards passing and 29 touchdowns this season, and that was after they beat the Cowboys of Dallas 34-23. In that game QB Cousins passed for 3 touchdowns and some 179 yards and left the game at the half-time.
This game at home for Washington is very important since this season they are with 6 wins and 2 losses at their home FedEx Field, plus QB Cousins has performed much better on his home field as at home he passed for 16 touchdowns and 2,172 yards and just 2 intercepts and a QB passing rank of 117. On the road his ranking was 83.8 and he passed for 13 touchdowns and some 1,995 yards passing on the road games.
With the Packers ranking 9th in the NFL for interceptions with 16 the Skins QB Cousins will have to be cautious, but he does have the talent receiver in TE J. Reed who on the season has 11 touchdowns on 953 yards receiving, and WR’s P. Garcon, J. Crowder and D. Jackson combined for 1,910 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2015.
The Redskins offense would like to see their RB A. Morris run past the Packers on the ground game since they saw the Vikings rush for 155 yards against the Packers this past Sunday night. RB Morris in their season final carried the ball 19 times for over 100 yards.
The offense of the Redskins need put a lot of points on the scoreboard, and doing that may cover up for their struggling defense that has allowed some 381 yards that ranks 28th and 24 points per game that ranks 16th in the NFL. In the Skins ultimate 8 games they are 6-2 straight up.
The sportsbook prediction for this AFC Wild Card game is that the Green Bay Packers continue to struggle, while the Washington Redskins continue their surge and beat the Pack and move on to the Division playoffs.