Packers’ Defense Seeks Elusive 60-Minute Performance vs. Commanders

The Green Bay Packers’ defense has been as-advertised during the first half of games. The second half? Not so much.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Oct 23, 2022 10:12 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 23, 2022

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ hyped defense isn’t half bad. The problem is it’s only been half good.

Entering Sunday’s game at the Washington Commanders, the Packers have allowed 50 points in the first halves of their six games. That’s 8.3 points per game, which is tied for fifth-best in the NFL. On the other hand, the Packers have allowed 73 points in the second halves. That’s 12.2 points per game, which ranks 24th.

“Our job is to go out and slam the door when we have to slam the door,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said.

Instead, they’ve kept the door wide open. The last three games, Green Bay has had 12 defensive possessions in the second half and overtime. It allowed eight scores: six touchdowns and two field goals.

The oddity is that Green Bay has been excellent on third down. Overall, it’s No. 1 with a 26.6 percent conversion rate. It’s not markedly worse in the second half, a sixth-ranked 30.3 percent.

The problem has been the early downs. Opponents have moved the chains on 34.5 percent of their first- and second-down snaps during the second half, worst in the NFL. Green Bay’s run defense, second-worst in franchise history in terms of yards allowed per carry, has been especially awful. On first and second downs, it’s given up a 30th-ranked 5.6 yards per carry and a 32nd-ranked first-down rate of 29.3 percent.

Even worse has been the fourth quarter. The Packers have given up 18 rushing first downs on first and second down alone. That’s six more than any other team. Washington’s given up only five.

Regardless of down, in the fourth quarter, the Packers are allowing 57.2 rushing yards per game. The Buffalo Bills are allowing 76.2 rushing yards per game, period.

The game might have been over last week, but the Packers were trounced during the final minutes against the Jets. They ran the ball 13 consecutive times to drain most of the clock and make it a three-score game. While Barry and coach Matt LaFleur clung to a series of goal-line stops like a life preserver – Barry said he texted the players afterward to commend them for their efforts – it was a small bright spot on a dreary afternoon.

“I think our whole group are studs,” Barry said, “but those 11 guys that did that, with the way the game unfortunately went, I was proud of them they battled the way they did. To me, that showed a lot of the character of that group.”

The Jets gained 80 yards on 26 plays in the first half (3.1 yards per play) but 198 yards on 27 plays in the second half (7.3 per play). That the defense was tired because of the offense’s ineptitude is a faulty premise. Entering the fourth quarter, the Packers had run 16 more offensive plays than the Jets and were plus-4 minutes in time of possession.

Meanwhile, the hyped pass defense hasn’t delivered, either. In the second halves, the Packers rank 26th in yards per attempt and 29th in first-down percentage.

Combine the defense’s fourth-quarter woes with the offense’s overall dysfunction, you get this: The Packers have been outscored 40-12 during the final period of their six games. When it’s time to go win the game, the Packers are a 30th-ranked minus-28 in fourth-quarter scoring.

“I try not to buy into those things,” Barry said of the second-half problems. “NFL football games are a grind. It is a four-hour battle. They’re going make adjustments, they’re going to make plays, but we have to, even in a situation where we’re playing really good for a long period of time, we have to continue that and you can’t let people off the hook. I don’t think there’s anything really to read into or a trend that’s happening. We’ve just got to make sure that – we talk about all the time defensively – make them earn every blade of grass they get, and we have to do that for 60 minutes.”