Well that was fun! All three phases of the game playing well and executing. Complementary Football. We the phrase incessantly from NFL coaches and Matt LaFleur is no exception, in fact, he probably talks about it more than most. It seems to creep into his message in every post-game press conference when the Packers lose or are fortunate to come out with a win despite some sub-par play from one of the three units. He didn't have to lament the lack of complementary football after this game (although a reporter did ask a question about it). All three units, the offense, defense and special teams (wefense) did their jobs on Sunday.
The defense was dominant, to use LaFleur's words, against a team with a lot of weapons on offense. They brought the hurt to the Lions, reversing a trend that had been established in the team's last 4-5 meetings. This time it was the Lions that were seen crumbling under the pressure from the aggressive and PHYSICAL play style of the defense. The Lions' offensive line struggled mightily to block the Packers' front seven. The ever dangerous Jamyr Gibbs was held to 19 yards on nine carries, and 14 of them were on one run! They produced nine TFLs (tackles for loss), continually disrupting the Lions' plays in their own backfield. They sacked Goff four times, hit him twice more and registered 13 additional QB hurries - that's just insane. All this made for an easy day for the secondary, as Goff was forced to continually throw short passes and never really threatened them downfield.
The offense finally started a game fast out of the gate, although it required some adjustments. The Lions were determined to stop Josh Jacobs and were doing a fine job of it. So the Packers pivoted to take advantage of the Lions loading the box and found plenty of space downfield for some big passing plays. While the offense did have a "lull" (Lafleur's word) in the second half, with a couple of three and outs, they got themselves back on track and closed out the game.
Finally, the special teams had a fine day with one exception, a few penalties on returns. But despite that, they were actually pulling off some nice looking returns and that bodes well for the future, What more can you say about Daniel Whelan and what a field tipping weapon he's become? Finally, recent free agent pickup Nick Niemann showed his value, playing 16 total special team snaps and registering 3 solo tackles and an assist in nine coverage teams snaps.
Overall, I must compliment the team on their complementary football.
Random thoughts...
I understand fans selling tickets, but a home opener division game against last year's division champ in an early September afternoon game before it even begins to get cold in Green Bay?
Hafley's defense only had two real practices with Micah Parsons as part of the equation. I can't wait to see how this D develops over the next few weeks as Parsons gets fully integrated into Hafley's scheme.
Josh Jacobs - When the run game wasn't working, he unselfishly told the coaches to pass the ball. After the game, After the gaem, Jacobs said he was 6/6 on pass protection opportunities so that's how he impacted the game when the rushing yards weren't there.
Pressuring Goff has always been the key to beating him. The last 4-5 Packers games, he's been able to set up a lawn chair in the pocket. Last year, Hafley had to revert to heavy blitzing (the most he did against any team last year) in a futile attempt to generate pressure. This year, they were able to do it with four rushers- the holy grail for defensive coordinators. The Packers were last in the NFL in blitz rate this week at only 11%.
Parsons is that rare player that makes everyone else better just by being in the game. The other DL get to shine, the linebackers are freed up to chase the ball and the secondary doesn't have to cover as long.
After the game, Parsons was talking up his teammates, and specifically raving about Lukas Van Ness. Parsons told Van Ness he could see him as a Cameron Wake / Julius Peppers type player. Hey now!
Go Pack Go!