Redskins vs. Packers: Score, Grades and Analysis

The Green Bay Packers were downright scary in their massive 38-20 win over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense didn't waste any time in taking control of the game, as they were hitting on all cylinders right from the outset. Green Bay took 6:58 to drive the ball 70 yards, which culminated with a 28-yard field goal from Mason Crosby.

It was a great drive for the Packers, even if they had to settle for three points. However, they were dealt a big blow when running back Eddie Lacy was forced off the field after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Brandon Meriweather.

The rookie suffered a concussion and would miss the rest of the game, per CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora.

Bleacher Report's Will Carroll thinks Meriweather will see a hefty fine as a result. 

In a bit of irony, the Redskins safety was knocked out of the game later when he hit James Starks in the helmet.

Even without Lacy, the Packers looked none the worse for wear.

After a few drives from both teams ended in punts, the Packers were working with a short field. They made great use of the field position, with Rodgers engineering a quick four-play, 42-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 35-yard reception for Randall Cobb on fourth down with 2:27 to go in the first quarter.

NFL.com's Albert Breer noted this is the second week in a row Washington has built itself an early deficit to overcome.

Things didn't get much better for the Redskins in the second quarter.

The Packers were able to score on their first drive of the quarter, going 75 yards in 3:13. Jordy Nelson caught a 14-yard touchdown pass to put Green Bay up 17-0.

It was another defensive letdown for Washington. The Packers were looking at a 3rd-and-14 before Nelson's touchdown catch. As an NFL defense, you can't let the offense produce such big plays on third and fourth downs.

The catch was Nelson's 24th receiving TD since 2011, the most in the NFL in that span, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

As if things weren't bad enough for Washington, it gave up yet another touchdown later in the half. The Packers went 90 yards in just 2:57 to go up 24-0. James Jones kick-started the drive with a 57-yard reception, and Jermichael Finley finished it with a three-yard TD reception.

The Packers were scintillating in the first half; four of their six drives ended with scores.

The Redskins couldn't have been any more opposite. They were forced to punt on their first four drives, and when they finally had something going, Robert Griffin III was intercepted at the Green Bay 21.

Carroll rightly points out that Griffin wasn't to blame for the pick, as Josh Morgan let his quarterback down.

It was a good microcosm of Washington's performance. The Skins took one step forward and two steps back.

Nelson caught his second touchdown pass of the day in the third quarter to put the Packers up 31-0. At that point, there was little hope the Redskins would be able to get back into the game.

They got their first score of the game when Griffin found Pierre Garcon for a six-yard touchdown pass. James Starks promptly answered back with a 32-yard touchdown run to erase any positive momentum Washington built off its touchdown drive.

The Redskins added a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was just too great, and they were never able to make this a game.

Following the contest, head coach Mike Shanahan was clearly displeased with his team's start to 2013, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post:

"

We’re 0-2 and I think everybody knows the percentages just like everybody knew the percentages last year when we were 3-6. That really doesn’t matter. What we have to do is get back to the basics and the things that we have done well.

"

Griffin also expressed his displeasure and the difficulty of making the right adjustments moving forward:

"

It’s real frustrating. I think there was a clear difference between this week’s first half and last week’s first half. We hurt ourselves a lot with turnovers last week. This week it wasn’t necessarily turnovers. Talking to the guys in the locker room, we can’t put our finger on what it is and that’s the really frustrating part.

"

Washington faces Detroit next week.

Key Player Grades

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: A+

Aaron Rodgers finished with 480 yards and four touchdowns on 34-of-42 passing. He was superb the entire game, and you almost wanted to see how many yards he could have put up if Green Bay would have gone for the jugular in the second half.

Already having a 24-0 lead in the first half, though, the Packers took the foot off the gas for the final two quarters. You certainly can't blame them, but Rodgers possibly could have surged closer to 600 yards with the way the Green Bay offense was performing.

James Starks, Green Bay Packers: A+

Coming in for the injured Eddie Lacy, James Starks stepped up in a big way. He finished with 132 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Sure, he tallied a lot of yards late in the game after the outcome had already been decided, but he was still able to average 6.6 yards a carry.

Former Packer and Super Bowl champion Donald Driver shared his praise for Starks' performance:

Starks was carving up the Redskins defense, and his ability to continue grinding out positive yards in the second half meant there was no chance of a Washington comeback. Green Bay was able to hand the ball off, move the chains and kill the clock.

If he can run like that, the Packers offense will have the running back they thought Lacy was going to be.

Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins: C+

Robert Griffin III was able to put up some good numbers, but those mostly came when Green Bay was already up by 20 points and the game was already over. In the first half, when the Redskins really needed him to step up, he wasn't himself.

He struggled to find his groove in the first half yet again. In the meantime, the Redskins were already so deep in a hole that they couldn't escape, even with a strong performance from their quarterback in the second half.

Washington Redskins Defense: F

Much of the attention will be drawn to how poor Griffin was, but as Rich Eisen astutely observes, the Redskins defense should take responsibility for how awful it was the entire game.

Whenever Washington needed a big stop, the defense wasn't there. The two Green Bay touchdowns on fourth down and 3rd-and-long both drive that point home.

It's the second week in a row the Redskins have surrendered 400-plus yards and over 100 yards on the ground to a running back. There are big questions that need to be asked of this defense. It doesn't matter how long it takes RG3 to get back to his best. If he doesn't have a defense to support him, the Redskins are in trouble.

What's Next

Green Bay will look to continue its positive momentum when it travels to Cincinnati next week for a matchup with the Bengals. The Redskins will try to get in the win column when they take on the Detroit Lions next Sunday.