GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — At their best against Washington, the Green Bay Packers snapped back to the line of scrimmage quickly after a successful play, ready for the next snap.
Up-tempo play confounded the Redskins’ defense in Green Bay’s 35-18 win in the wild-card round, a confidence boost for the Packers ahead of a matchup against Arizona’s tough defense on Saturday night in an NFC divisional playoff game.
“We like to move the ball fast,” receiver James Jones said after the win over Washington. “When we get a good tempo going, we’re hard to stop.”
That has typically been the case with coach Mike McCarthy calling the plays and quarterback Aaron Rodgers taking snaps under center.
But with deep threat Jordy Nelson out all season with a knee injury, and the running game chugging along in fits and starts, the once-potent Packers offense has struggled to produce points.
They’ve had spurts of success playing catch-up, such as rallying for two touchdowns in the final 7:54 of a 37-29 loss to Carolina.
Late rallies at home against Detroit, Chicago and Minnesota fell short of victory.
The 27-23 win over the Lions on the road on Dec. 3 ended with perhaps the Packers’ signature play this season — the 61-yard touchdown catch by Richard Rodgers as time expired on a desperation pass from Aaron Rodgers.
Last week against Washington, the Packers were back to scoring points in bunches after a sluggish first quarter.
They moved the ball effectively in no-huddle and shotgun formations. Rodgers caught the Redskins secondary at least a couple of times on free plays, including a 12-yard score to Randall Cobb in the second quarter.
The run game got better as the game progressed. When they’re moving the ball effectively at a quick tempo, it creates energy. More energy, in turn, can sharpen offensive play.
“It’s part of being part of a no-huddle offense, it’s important to us,” McCarthy said on Tuesday. “That’s the way we prefer to play, and we’re all about getting as many attempts at the plate as possible.”
It’s made possible starting with the offensive line, whose top priority is to protect Rodgers. When the offense is in sync, Rodgers doesn’t need much time to find his receivers.
When Rodgers is rolling and feeling good, the Packers are hard to stop.
“Your best players, particularly your best player has to practice hard every day. He has outstanding energy,” McCarthy said.