As Competition Rises, So Must Defense
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ defense gave up a touchdown early, a touchdown late and almost nothing in between in Sunday’s victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It would appear to be another step in the right direction for Joe Barry’s defense.
“It’s our expectation,” outside linebacker Rashan Gary said after recording a sack during a thorough 27-17 victory at Lambeau Field. “We’re challenging ourselves. We understand what we have on this defense and all three phases. So, we just have to go out there and we just got to play. That’s just what we’re doing: Pushing each other to be great and flying around, reading our keys and having fun.”
Green Bay held the Steelers to 282 yards, a combined 4-of-13 on third down (4-of-11) and fourth down (0-for-2), and a meager 4.9 yards per play. The Packers allowed just three plays of longer than 12 yards.
With a strong second half against Detroit in Week 2, a strong first half against San Francisco in Week 3 and a high-quality 60 minutes against the Steelers, Green Bay ranks sixth in total defense (311.5 yards per game), eighth in yards per play (5.21), and eighth in passing yards per game (209.5) and per play (6.12).
However, Green Bay’s success comes with the asterisk of not having played an elite offense or elite quarterback. The tale of the tape:
New Orleans: 16th in scoring (23.5 points), 28th in total offense (276.8 yards). Jameis Winston: eighth in passer rating (106.4), 23rd in completion percentage (64.0).
Detroit: 24th in scoring (20.3 points), 18th in total offense (351.8 yards). Jared Goff: 19th in passer rating (96.8), 11th in completion percentage (68.3).
San Francisco: 7th in scoring (26.8 points; but 22.0 the last three games), 16th in total offense (376.8 yards). Jimmy Garoppolo: 18th in passer rating (96.9), 17th in completion percentage (66.1).
Pittsburgh: 28th in scoring (16.8 points), 27th in total offense (301.8 yards). Ben Roethlisberger: 27th in passer rating (78.9), 22nd in completion percentage (64.1).
Moreover, the Saints have a great offensive line and running back but were without star receiver Michael Thomas. The Lions have good running backs and blockers but bad receivers. The 49ers have a lame-duck quarterback and were without their top running backs. The Steelers have a terrible offensive line and a past-his-prime quarterback.
That quarterback, Roethlisberger, had a miserable performance. Early in the second quarter, he stood like a statue in the pocket and was sacked and stripped by Kingsley Keke. The turnover set up the Packers for an easy touchdown and a 14-7 lead. On the next possession, he misfired on what should have been a deep touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster. On a pair of fourth downs in the second half, he threw well short of the sticks and his receivers, Najee Harris on the first and Smith-Schuster on the second, had no chance of getting the first down.
“I’ll give them credit. They made plays and we didn’t,” Roethlisberger said. “We have to be better. I need to be better.”
To be sure, the Packers did make some plays and didn’t just feast on a JV offense. Keke made his first play of the season on the sack-strip; the Packers need a lot more of that after a strong season and excellent training camp. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell has been a stud. The pressure was good when Roethlisberger wasn’t throwing quick passes. But the coverage wasn’t great and All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander was lost to a shoulder injury.
Now, comes a bigger challenge. On Sunday, the Packers will play at the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow is sixth in passer rating, and he’s surrounded with weapons with running back Joe Mixon and receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
The real gauntlet starts in Week 8. That’s when the Packers face a gauntlet of quarterbacks: Arizona’s Kyler Murray in Week 8, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes in Week 10, Seattle’s Russell Wilson in Week 11, Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins in Week 12 and the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford in Week 13. After the bye, there are matchups against Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in Week 15 and Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield in Week 16
That’s a worry for another day. For the here and now, the Packers have been a resilient bunch. They’ve won three in a row to get to 3-1 despite Pro Bowlers David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Za’Darius Smith and now Alexander sidelined by injuries.
“It’s huge,” Keke said of Sunday’s defensive performance. “Week 1 wasn’t us. We knew we were going to come back and get right. Sometimes, a little loss like that can get us back to working, working on things that we need to fix as a defense. Because it’s all about communication and trust, and trusting and seeing what you see, and believing in everything that the coaches are telling us to do. It’s a huge for us; just got to keep rolling.”
