GREEN BAY, Wis. — Derrius Guice remained on the ground for several minutes, while Adrian Peterson stood next to him with his helmet off. Guice had just completed his longest run of the afternoon when Packers safety Darnell Savage came diving in, head first, to take out the Redskins running back’s legs.
Eventually, the 22-year-old rose up from the Lambeau Field grass and walked off under his own power — but his day was done.
Guice was diagnosed with another knee injury in Sunday’s 20-15 loss to the Green Bay Packers, his third in his short career. The injury was part of a costly day for the Redskins, who were officially eliminated from the playoffs.
Throughout Sunday’s loss, the Redskins dealt with a myriad of injuries. Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins appeared to suffer an ankle injury, limping often during the loss. Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan suffered a calf injury in the third quarter, and he was soon ruled out. Cornerback Quinton Dunbar left after injuring his hamstring.
Undone by injuries, the Redskins (3-10) couldn’t fully overcome a double-digit deficit.
But boy, did they try.
The Redskins scored with 1:17 left to cut Green Bay’s lead to five — with Terry McLaurin hauling in a dazzling touchdown in the end zone. Washington, however, was unable to recover its onside kick attempt, ending the game.
The Packers raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as running back Aaron Jones and quarterback Aaron Rodgers took advantage of the various holes in Washington’s defense. The Redskins’ offense didn’t help matters as they opened the contest with three straight three-and-outs.
Yet, the Redskins did recover from their poor start. After Guice’s injury, the Redskins finished the drive successfully — scoring when Peterson crossed the goal line on a two-yard score.
The Redskins got into scoring position after a lengthy 11-play, 95-yard drive, which featured eight straight runs. Haskins’ lone completion on the drive was a perfect 30-yard strike to wideout Kelvin Harmon, who ran it to the 2-yard line.
Defensively, the Redskins, again, had success with their pass rush for a second straight week. Near the end of the first half, linebacker Ryan Anderson stripped the ball from Rodgers’ hands, jumping on the fumble in front of him. Before then, the Packers had marched down the field and were in a position to score.
Anderson’s sack was one of the team’s four on Rodgers, and Washington now has 17 in the last three games.
With a defense that kept them in the game, the Redskins had chances in the fourth quarter to try and tie it. For a moment, it looked like the offense was about to make sure of it, actually. Peterson strung together back-to-back runs, while Haskins found Steven Sims for an eight-yard completion. The Redskins reached midfield.
It was then, however, the drive stalled out.
On third down, Haskins targeted Sims in the middle of the field — only for him to throw an incomplete pass. Facing fourth down, Washington elected to punt, given there were 10 minutes left in the contest.
Green Bay, though, did what it wanted to do on the next series — eat the clock. Over the next seven minutes, the Packers executed play after play that allowed precious seconds tick away for the Redskins.
By the end of Green Bay’s 14-play drive, kicker Mason Crosby hit a 33-yard attempt, creating a two-score margin.
And though the Redskins scored, their failed onside kick attempt allowed for the Packers to kneel it until time expired.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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