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Five Takeaways, Redskins Vs. Packers, Week 14

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The Redskins travelled to Lambeau Field looking to end their 31-year losing streak at the venue, but they couldn't come back from a 14-0 deficit and lost, 20-15. Here are five takeaways from Sunday's game:

1. Injuries plague the offense and defense

The Redskins were bitten hard with the injury bug against the Packers.

Derrius Guice entered the second quarter with just one rushing yard and his team down, 14-0. He then got the ball four out of the next five plays and had a run down the right side of the field for 23 yards. But then Guice was injured at the end of the play and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Then it was Ryan Kerrigan who went down with a calf injury and didn't return for the remainder of the game. Although he only had one tackle, he was bringing constant pressure on Aaron Rodgers and even had a sack, which brought him 1.5 sacks away from being the franchise leader in the category.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Quinton Dunbar and Fabian Moreau, who are the team's leaders in interceptions, were also injured during the game. Moreau returned while Dunbar did not.

Given many of the Redskins' best defensive players were out for much of the game, it's impressive that the defense held Rodgers to 195 passing yards.

2. 14,000 and counting for Adrian Peterson

Peterson has been something of a roll for the past couple of weeks. He had 13 attempts for 99 yards against the Panthers, including a 12-yard rushing touchdown.

While he wasn't quite as productive during Sunday's game against the Packers, he still had 76 yards on 20 attempts. He also had the team's only rushing touchdown that capped off a 95-yard drive in the second quarter.

But Peterson also reached another milestone against the Packers; he eclipsed the 14,000-yard mark for his career, making him the sixth back in NFL history to reach that mark. The other players include Curtis Martin, Barry Sanders, Frank Gore, Walter Peyton and Emmitt Smith.

3. Redskins make things interesting late

With 2 minutes, 34 seconds left in regulation, Mason Crosby drilled a 33-yard field goal that put the Packers up, 20-9, and it looked like the game was essentially over.

But that's not the way the Redskins saw it. Rather than play conservatively and let the clock wind down, quarterback Dwayne Haskins and the offense drove the ball 75 yards and closed the gap with a 13-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

Haskins tried to scramble into the end zone on the two-point conversion but was stopped short of the goal line. It came down to an onside kick from Dustin Hopkins, but the Packers recovered to seal the game.

4. Defense starts slow (again), but then recovers (again)

The Redskins fell behind, 14-0, for the second straight game, but like last week's contest against the Panthers, they bounced back in a big way.

It was looking rough for the Redskins, as the Packers worked their way down the field with ease in the first quarter. They put up 99 yards in their first three drives, and with a four-yard run from Aaron Jones and a 12-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers, the Packers were already up two scores.

The game was much more even after that, though. After allowing 111 yards in the first quarter, the defense allowed 223 yards in the last three quarters for only 74 yards per quarter.

The Redskins also got four sacks on Rodgers, one of which was a strip sack from Ryan Anderson that kept the score,14-6, with 58 seconds left in the first half. The Packers were also limited to just two field goals for the rest of the game, allowing the Redskins to outscore them, 9-6, after the opening 15 minutes.

The defense is finally playing like many anticipated when the season began. But for the past two games, it's improved play has come after a sluggish start.

5. Haskins battles through injury

There were plenty of Redskins players who got banged up against the Packers. It looked like Haskins was one of them, as he entered the second half with a small but noticeable limp.

But rather than step out and let Case Keenum finish the game, Haskins elected to stay in and try to lead his to a comeback. It came close to working, too, as Haskins directed the offense to a field goal and a touchdown.

The first drive ended poorly with -9 yards of offense, but it all positive from there. After ending the first drive of the half with a sack, Haskins responded with a 12-play, 46-yard drive that set up a 52-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins.

Then, with 1:17 left to play, Haskins completed 6 of 8 passes for 75 yards and his touchdown pass to McLaurin. The effort wasn't enough to come back as the team did against the Panther, but it did show that Haskins has grit and is willing to fight through injury to make sure his team wins.

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