High-Powered NFC Offenses Could Make Packers Vulnerable
DETROIT – For a span of seven consecutive games, the Green Bay Packers were winning games in large part because of their defense. Over the last seven games, the Green Bay Packers are winning in spite of their defense.
The defense hit a new low in a 37-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Other than the Week 1 debacle against New Orleans, it was a season-high total of points allowed for the Packers. For the Lions, it was their season-high total for points scored and more than double their season average.
“Defense, football in general, comes down to discipline and people owning their roles,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “And when you aren’t disciplined or you go outside the scheme, bad stuff happens. We cannot have that. We need all 11 doing their damn job. And if they don’t, stuff like that happens.”
Starting with the Week 4 victory over Pittsburgh through the Week 10 shutout over Seattle, Green Bay gave up 97 points. That’s a seven-game average of just 13.9 points per game. Under first-year coordinator Joe Barry, the Packers had the type of defense they had lacked since winning the Super Bowl in 2010.
Or, perhaps this is the same old Packers defense that has torpedoed one playoff run after another for the past decade.
Over the final seven games of the season, the Packers allowed 191 points. That’s an average of 27.3 points allowed per game, a woeful number that includes last week’s 37-10 victory over a Vikings team that played without its star quarterback and veteran receiver.
Unless Barry can find some answers over the bye week, his defense could be the reason why the Packers are bounced in the divisional round. Here’s the tale of the tape among the playoff teams.
No. 2 Tampa Bay is second in scoring with 30.1 points per game, second with 405.9 yards per game and first with 307.6 passing yards per game.
No. 3 Dallas is first in scoring with 31.2 points per game, first with 407.0 yards per game and second with 282.4 passing yards per game.
No. 4 L.A. Rams is tied for sixth with 27.1 points per game, eighth with 372.1 yards per game and fourth with 273.1 passing yards per game.
No. 5 Arizona is 10th with 26.4 points per game and seventh with 373.6 yards per game.
No. 6 San Francisco is 13th with 25.1 points per game and sixth with 357.7 yards per game.
No. 7: Philadelphia is 11th with 26.1 points per game and 13th with 359.9 yards per game but first with 159.7 rushing yards per game.
The NFC quarterback field is loaded. By passer rating, Dallas’ Dak Prescott is third, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford is sixth, Tampa Bay legend Tom Brady is seventh, Arizona’s Kyler Murray is eighth and San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo is 10th. While Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts is 22nd in rating, he finished with 3,928 total yards and 26 total touchdowns.
Of course, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is No. 1 in passer rating. The offense is rolling, and should get stronger with the return of Aaron Jones and Randall Cobb. But the offense has seldom been the problem in the playoffs. The presumptive return of Jaire Alexander should help, as should the bye. Then again, Green Bay’s defense had the bye to recover from the loss at Minnesota but continued to hemorrhage yards and points.
“You’re only as good as your last performance,” Barry said last week.
Right now, based on Sunday’s performance and too many other performances down the stretch, the defense could be what keeps the Packers out of the Super Bowl for an 11th consecutive season.
