GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers will try to get back on the winning track Sunday when they play at Washington.

The Packers are 3-3, have lost two in a row and face three straight games on the road. This feels like a crossroads.

“I thought the mood, the vibe around the team is as good as it can be,” said Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur. “Just challenge them to go out and compete to the best of their ability, put in the work throughout the course of the week and go out and enjoy this. We gotta have fun playing ball. I do like the frame of mind everybody’s in. Nobody’s hanging their head because I promise you nobody’s feeling sorry for us.”

Aaron Rodgers didn’t practice on Wednesday so he could get treatment on his ailing thumb. Rodgers didn’t use the word “simplify” like he did after Sunday’s loss, but the sputtering offense is on his mind.

“We just talk openly about the issues, or try and hold guys accountable, ourselves accountable,” said Rodgers. “Self-criticism is very important in this business. We look long and hard at how we’re playing, and what we got to do to get better for us. A lot of plays is ten guys doing the right thing and one guy missing an assignment. And we have issues, so we can just clean up that one guy. And it’s not one particular guy, it’s different guys in every play, including myself. So we clean that up, we’ll be fine.”

Wide receiver Sammy Watkins returned to practice on Wednesday on a limited basis. That opens the 21-day window for the Packers to activate him as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

“It felt great just to get out there and be back in the group with the guys,” said Watkins. “Running around pretty good today and just excited. First day back got to block, catch passes, do routes. It’s a fun feeling when you’re back in the mix. I had a great day.”

Rodgers said he thinks the Washington defensive line will present a formidable challenge on Sunday.

“They’re really good, really good,” said Rodgers. “A lot of first round picks on there. They got five guys with three plus sacks. They get a lot of push up front. Yeah, it’s a solid defense, front to back.”

“It can give you nightmares if you let it,” added LaFleur. “If you watch the sack reel, or just the pressure reel. The third down, you gotta have a plan for it. Even when you have a plan for it, it still may not go the way you want it to go. They just wreak havoc.”

Rodgers was asked about LaFleur’s statement that the Packers needed to have more fun.

“Winning is fun,” said Rodgers. “Whenever you win, you’re always going to have more fun. I think a lot of times, that’s an important message, but you’re having fun when you’re loose. When you’re loose, that means you’re prepared. When you prepare, that means you put in the time.”

Rodgers said there’s an expectation that everyone will be ready to play Sunday.

“That confidence will come from the preparation this week,” he said. “I love this. This is a lot of fun for me. I miss being out there at practice today, because I love practicing. I live for this. I wake up in the morning thinking about this.”

The Packers are averaging only about 18 points per game, but Rodgers insisted that this is what he signed up for.

“Similar to maybe what I expected, there’s been growing pains. There’s been some some mental errors at times, which you expect with a younger group,” said Rodgers. “But there’s been just too many plays where it’s just one guy, maybe doing the wrong thing, or not executing their responsibility. So we clean it up, we’ll be fine. There’s enough leadership on the offense to get those things cleaned up. I’m confident we’ll get some of those things fixed.”

Rodgers said he has liked what he’s seen this week, but it’s the energy on Sunday that matters.