We have teams going in opposite directions here.
Green Bay has won 4 of its last 10 games. At a certain point, you need to say that it's not just a team going through a slump, but an underlying problem that is plaguing the team. They certainly define what it means to "back into the playoffs" this season.
Our Redskins are certainly trending upwards and showing promise and life as a football team. Of all the Redskins teams that have been in the playoffs in our last four appearances, this collection of players certainly has the highest ceiling for success. Our last three playoff teams certainly had the "one and done" feel to them, whereas with this one you can envision them getting better in future years and building on this year's success.
The one thing that concerns me about Sunday is that while we've taken care of business with the schedule we've faced, we've really struggled and were pushed around against the heavyweights and better clubs on our schedule at the time at which we played them over the course of the season - Carolina, New York Jets, New England. The fact is we haven't beaten a team with a winning record this season. It would be nice if we can cross this off our to-do list.
One might argue that when we played those teams, we weren't playing with the confidence we are now, and that would be a fair assessment.
Green Bay possesses experience, and a playoff winning tradition that they can use as motivation to draw upon and convince themselves that they can walk into Washington and win.
If we play scared, I think Green Bay's experience will give them the edge. If we play loose, aggressive, and with an attitude that we've got nothing to lose, our opponent will be prime for the picking based on their recent play.
I really believe that Sunday's result will have more to do with our approach and mentality, as opposed to anything the Packers are going to do.
We won't get a better opportunity to win a playoff game than this. We need to grab the bull by the horns.
My prediction is that the game gets decided in the final minute one way or the other.