Aaron Rodgers managed to crack an ever-so-small smile during what was largely a somber and reflective postgame press conference. Rodgers’ brief smile was the result of being asked what he expected to see out of the tape from Green Bay’s 23-21 upset loss to the Commanders.
The loss, which dropped the Packers to 3-4 after a 3-1 start, saw the Packers fail to convert a third-down conversion for the first time in the Rodgers era, via Ben Standig of The Athletic. It marked the first time the Packers offense failed to convert on a single third down since Oct. 17, 1999.
“Some bad tape,” said Rodgers, who was a sophomore in high school the last time the Packers went a game without converting on third down.”Some bad tape all around. I’ll probably peek at it tonight just to have a heads-up on what to expect tomorrow when we watch it tomorrow.”
The Packers went 0-for-6 on third down. They also failed to convert on their lone fourth-down attempt.
“Execution of the details,” Rodgers said of Green Bay’s third-down woes. “Small details. Lot of mental errors today. We had some issues with guys getting hurt … but yeah, we just made some silly execution mistakes.”
Green Bay was coming off last Sunday’s loss to the Jets that saw them score just 10 points. Similar to their loss to New York, the Packers struggled to run the ball, getting a season-low 60 yards. And while he wasn’t sacked, Rodgers faced consistent pressure from Washington’s stingy defensive front. The pressure played a role in Rodgers throwing for just 194 yards.
Rodgers was asked afterward if he needs to make more plays outside the pocket for the Packers offense to have success. Arguably the Packers’ best play of the day — Rodgers’ 21-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones that gave the Packers life with 3:26 left — came after Rodgers moved outside the pocket. The Packers ultimately ran out time, however, after Washington’s offense ran out most of the game’s remaining minutes.
“Might need to do that a little bit more,” he replied. “I kind of had a mindset to maybe look to do that a little bit more. Didn’t do it enough today. … We didn’t run the ball particularly well. Didn’t catch it particularly well. I didn’t really move a whole lot to extend plays until that last drive.”
One of the concerning things for the Packers was the fact that the Commanders had success pressuring Rodgers despite rarely blitzing…
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