Subscribe
Follow Us
The Washington Commanders have not had a great start to their season, and now they will be without their starting quarterback Carson Wentz after he was placed on injured reserve prior to their Week 7 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Still, the Commanders have some momentum after picking up a win in Week 6, so we decided to roll out our Commanders Week 7 predictions for their upcoming game.
Washington will now be turning things over to Taylor Heinicke under center, and there could be worse backup quarterback options for the Commanders at this point. Heinicke could end up being better than Wentz at quarterback, but there's also a reason the team brought in Wentz to replace him this offseason in the first place.
Either way, Heinicke will have a tall task ahead of him when it comes to beating the Packers, although to be fair, they have looked quite vulnerable in recent outings. Can the Commanders upset Green Bay and hand them their third straight loss? Let's dive into our predictions and see whether that has a chance of happening this weekend.
Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
3. Commanders DE Montez Sweat will sack Aaron Rodgers three times
Montez Sweat has begun to find his form after a slow start to the season. Sweat has three sacks over his last two games, and has begun to look more and more like the 2020 version of himself that racked up nine sacks playing alongside Chase Young. Sweat is holding down the fort on his own for now, with Young hoping to return later this season.
Recently, it hasn't mattered for Sweat, and he's facing a struggling Packers offense at the perfect time right now. Green Bay's offensive line let Aaron Rodgers get sacked four times last weekend against the New York Jets, and the constant pressure he faced made him uncomfortable in the pocket all day long.
The Commanders will have success creating pressure on Rodgers, but Sweat will be the only guy who is able to actually get to Rodgers. The good news for Washington is that Sweat will sack Rodgers three times in the game, which plays a big part in Rodgers' up-and-down performance in this game. Sweat will prove he's fully back with a standout performance against the Packers in this one.
2. Commanders WR Terry McLaurin will score two touchdowns
Article Continues Below
Heinicke's return to action may make the Commanders offense worse, but it should benefit star wide receiver Terry McLaurin in a big way. McLaurin hasn't really gotten the volume or targets he was accustomed to getting early in his career now that Wentz is under center, but that could be set to change in a big way against Green Bay.
McLaurin has seen Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson have roles just as big as his in the offense, which wasn't really the expectation entering the season. McLaurin's numbers early in the season (22 REC, 367 YDS, 1 TD) aren't super encouraging, so maybe Heinicke can help him improve his play.
Chances are Heinicke will be looking McLaurin's way early and often since he was his favorite target during the 2021 season. Heinicke doesn't have as much familiarity with Samuel or Dotson, and starting tight end Logan Thomas has already been ruled out for this game. McLaurin will turn his increased target share into a pair of touchdowns, which helps Washington keep this game closer than expected.
1. The Commanders will come up just short against the Packers, losing 23-20
In most cases, the Commanders wouldn't have a shot at beating Green Bay. But this is the worst start we've seen the Packers have in quite some time, and more importantly, they have been bad with Rodgers has been on the field. That at least opens the door for Washington to make this game competitive.
Heinicke being under center won't really help a struggling Packers defense, as they don't have any tape on him this season. He will fire his first touchdown to McLaurin on the opening drive of the game, giving Washington an unexpected early lead. But Rodgers does the same on the next drive, finding his top target Allen Lazard on a quick two-yard pass.
The Commanders will go blow for blow with the Packers throughout the game, but ultimately Rodgers will lead a game-winning field goal drive with less than two minutes left in the game to give Green Bay the win. It will be a fairly encouraging outing for the Commanders, but they will be left wondering whether or not they should have actually pulled off an upset of the Packers in this game.
