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GREEN BAY -- Julius Peppers made the task ahead for the Green Bay Packers sound so simple earlier this week. "Yeah, we're going to get it done," the veteran linebacker asserted. "There's no reason to believe anything other than that. In this locker room, we know where we stand. We don't necessarily want to get caught up watching other teams and what they're doing. We're focusing on us, and we've just got to get a win. That's the bottom line."
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And, without hesitating, the team's elder statesman at age 36 and in his 15th NFL season made this bold statement about how the Packers are going about making themselves relevant again in the chase for the NFC North title and a playoff berth: "We're going to win this week."
As Packers fans know too well, backing up Peppers' confident talk won't come easy for Green Bay on Sunday night.
The Packers are in the throes of a three-game losing streak and saddled with a 4-5 record as they travel to the East Coast to play another surging team on the road. One week after getting trampled 47-25 by the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay faces the 5-3-1 Washington Redskins in prime time at FedEx Field.
"No one walks through the NFL unscathed," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. "This is a tough spot as far as what's going on the last three weeks, but if anything, it brings you back to your foundation and makes you focus even more on what's most important, and that's beating the Redskins."
The Packers did just that 10 months ago at the same stadium outside Washington, D.C. They ran away to a convincing 35-18 win over the NFC East-champion Redskins in the first round of the playoffs.
Unlike that Green Bay team, which didn't blink after falling behind 11-0 in the first half, the current group of Packers is in its ongoing tailspin because it can't overcome slow starts. Green Bay has never led the last two games, giving up a touchdown return to the Indianapolis Colts on the opening kickoff Nov. 6 and then spotting the Titans a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
"That was so long (ago)," Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said about his club's January meeting with the Packers. "That was a different team. Both of us have changed considerable since then."
Indeed, the Packers continue to head south in the NFC North, a division they once dominated, with a third-place standing. The only silver lining is Green Bay plays in what has quickly become a mediocre division, trailing front-runners Detroit and Minnesota by just a game.
Washington, meanwhile, is in the thick of what is shaping up to be an intriguing race to the finish in the NFL's most competitive division, going 5-1-1 after a 0-2 start. The Redskins are tied with the second-place New York Giants (6-3) in the loss column and only two losses behind the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys.
"We're not looking too far behind," Gruden when asked about avenging the postseason setback to the Packers. "We're looking ahead more."
That's the outlook the Packers are thought to be taking, according to Peppers, as they try to put their midseason slump behind them. Looking over their shoulders at another early deficit on the scoreboard is what they want to avoid.
"We've just got to rally, and we've got to find a way to stop the bleeding," Peppers said. "Somebody has to make a play. I think that's a little bit of what we're missing right now - guys making plays - and that's pretty much what the game is, having playmakers on the field make plays. So, we've got to have a lot more of that moving forward.
"What matters is winning and doing your job. Not much more than that really matters. So, that's where we're at. We're going to stick together. Nobody's going to start pointing fingers. Nobody's going to start playing the blame game. We're in this thing together. All of our names are on it. So, we're all going to find a way to come together and get this thing turned around."
And, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the second-oldest player on the team at nearly 33 years old, had some choice words Wednesday for those who have been knocking McCarthy for the club's ongoing struggles.
"I think it's ridiculous," Rodgers said. "I think people don't understand how difficult it is to win in this league and win consistently. The success that we've had here (for several years), it's tough to do. We've set the standard pretty high. But, I wouldn't listen to some of those people out there. I mean, they're not in this locker room, they're not in the meeting rooms, they're not in the practice environments. They don't know what's going on, they don't know the type of work ethic that we have here and that Mike has here.
"Especially guys like Mike Florio. Don't waste your time reading crap like that," added Rodgers, taking a swipe at the Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports insider, who wrote this week about an escalating rift between the two-time league MVP and his coach.
As for recent criticism leveled by outsiders of his shortcomings as the team's on-field leader, Rodgers responded, "I'm beyond it right now. That stuff is white noise. I don't pay attention to that kind of stuff. We set the bar here pretty high, and that's because we've had a lot of success here. We're very proud of that. But, we're trying to win football games right now, and that stuff doesn't matter."
--The Packers' carousel of running backs this season has a new face.
Green Bay claimed Christine Michael off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday. The move came a day after the Seahawks cut the fourth-year pro, who fell out of favor after starting seven games this season.
To make room for Michael on the 53-man roster, the Packers placed undrafted rookie running back Don Jackson on injured reserve. Jackson appeared in three games after starting the season on Green Bay's practice squad but had only 10 carries for 32 yards.
Jackson suffered a hand injury in his pro debut Oct. 20 against the Chicago Bears but played the next two games before being deactivated for the 47-25 loss at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Since the announcement of Michael's transaction wasn't made until later in the day Wednesday after practice, it's not known what kind of role, if any, Michael could have for the Packers in their game at the Washington Redskins on Sunday night.
Michael becomes the No. 2 halfback on the roster, behind James Starks, who returned to action at Tennessee after missing four games because of a knee injury.
Featured back Eddie Lacy is on injured reserve because of an ankle injury and not eligible to return until mid-December.
The Packers have been using Ty Montgomery and, to a lesser extent, fellow wide receiver Randall Cobb as ball carriers out of the backfield in recent weeks.
Green Bay hopes Starks can be a bigger contributor Sunday after he was limited to seven carries for 33 yards against the Titans, though he had a 13-yard touchdown catch.
"You have to run the football," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "Everything starts with running the football. You can't extend your offensive line and your pass-protection unit the way we have. Running the football is very important for a number of different reasons."
And, perhaps the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Michael proves to be a quick study after he arrives in Green Bay with limited prep work before Sunday night.
The former second-round draft pick had 117 carries for 469 yards and six touchdowns in nine games with the Seahawks this season. He also caught 20 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.
