Five things to watch as the Packers play host to the Washington Football Team

Oct. 22—1. Weight of expectations: The Washington Football Team finished at the top of a putrid pile when they won the NFC East last year with a 7-9 record. An unsettled quarterback situation was the team's biggest problem, but the defense, led by edge rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young, was fourth in the league in scoring and second in yards allowed.

The Team became a trendy pick to take a step forward and challenge for the division title again—presumably with a winning record this time—based on the perceived strength of the defense.

But that perception has not been the reality.

Washington is dead last in defensive points per game and second to last in yards per game. They're especially susceptible to the pass, having allowed 309.5 passing yards per game and 16 touchdown passes, both worst in the NFL.

2. Still, be careful: Despite the overall struggles of Washington's defense, it has still been able to get pressure on the quarterback. The Football Team blitzes 31.7% of the time, eighth-most in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, and gets pressure on the quarterback on 26.8% of dropbacks, also eighth. The pressure has only translated to 12 sacks, which is tied for 19th, but pressure alone can sometimes be enough to affect opposing quarterbacks.

3. Scary Terry: Third-year receiver Terry McLaurin has been a star from the moment he put on a Washington uniform. He's on pace for another 90-catch, 1,000-yard season in 2021, but there have been plenty of missed opportunities for him and his offense.

He's tied for eighth in the NFL in targets with 57, but those targets have translated into just 33 receptions for a catch percentage of 57.9%, 144th in the NFL. McLaurin has racked up 428 receiving yards, 18th in the league, and his 13 yards per reception rank him 44th.

4. Fitzpatrick to Heinicke: The Team knew they had to steady the quarterback position to be better in 2021 after three players—Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith and Kyle Allen—started regular season games for them last year and a fourth, Tyler Heinicke, started their playoff game.

They brought in veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick with that in mind, but he suffered a long-term hip injury in Week 1. So they're back to Heinicke, who has actually played OK this season with 253 yards per game in his starts while completing 63.6% of his passes with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

5. Ramping up the run game: I swear this will be the last time I mention Green Bay's Week 1 game (maybe), but since the Packers gained just 43 rushing yards in that loss to New Orleans, they've increased their rushing output in every game.

Aaron Jones (76) and A.J. Dillon (59) combined for 135 yards and Aaron Rodgers chipped in 19 more for a total of 154 yards on 31 carries against the Bears, an average of 4.9 per rush against a solid defensive front seven.

When Jones and Dillon get moving, the deceptive parts of Matt LaFleur's offense work their best: There's more room in the secondary when passing out of run formations, linebackers and safeties bite a little harder on play-action fakes, and presnap motion makes defenders think a little bit longer about what they're seeing before reacting. That Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are part of the attack make it much more dangerous for opposing defenses by orders of magnitude compared to other quarterbacks and receivers in similar systems.