When you hold the reigning Super Bowl champions to 10 points, you should win that game 99.9% of the time.
When you hold your opponent to 13 points on your home field the week prior, you should win that game comfortably.
That’s what Jeff Hafley’s defense has done the last two weeks, yet the Green Bay Packers have nothing to show for it but two losses. They deserve some love during what has been a brutal two-week stretch for the Packers.
Let’s get the annoying part out of the way.
Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle ran all over Green Bay’s defense two weeks ago, and Green Bay has struggled to hit home with the pass rush the last two weeks. Hafley’s defense registered just one sack against Bryce Young, and they were unable to get all the way home on Jalen Hurts. And yes, at times against Carolina, there were sequences in which the Panthers had long, drawn-out drives that Green Bay couldn’t stop.
Despite all that, this defense has yielded 23 combined points over the last two weeks. From a team-result vantage point, there’s nothing to show for it. It’s unfathomable.
Hafley’s defense has given up 16 or fewer points four times this year. Green Bay is a mind-numbing 1-3 in said games. To slap you across the face with some perspective, the rest of the league is 62-5 when its defense allows 16 points or fewer this year. Think about how staggering that is as you pick yourself up off the ground after getting backhanded with those numbers.
The Packers haven’t given up more than 16 points against the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Panthers. Still, the only victory came in Week 1 against the Lions.
The team is aware of this phenomenon. Quarterback Jordan Love was asked how the offense feels during this stretch, where the defense continues to deliver while the offense sputters.
I know as a defense, they definitely have every reason to look at us and say, “What are you guys doing? You guys need to figure it out and help us out and put up some more points,” because they’re doing a great job. It’s frustrating, but we’ll stay together. We’ll keep the energy high and find ways to get better and be better as an offense.
It’s more than Green Bay’s defense asking “What are you guys doing?” in reference to Matt LaFleur’s offense.
Per OptaSTATS, the Packers have allowed 39 combined points and 780 total yards in their first three losses of the campaign. It’s the first time a team has allowed fewer than 40 points and fewer than 800 total yards in their first three losses of a season since the Lions … in 1940.
Ah, yes, the Roosevelt administration was the last time we saw a defense post those numbers and still take the losses due to complete ineptitude on the offensive side of the ball.
Thankfully for all of Green Bay, outspoken superstar Micah Parsons, who admirably wears his emotions on his sleeve, was optimistic after the offense’s debacle against Philadelphia.
Honestly, it’s just super frustrating. But it’s just one of them things, like we’re going to win together, we’re going to lose together, regardless of the outcome, and just being there for our teammates, regardless of who’s playing better or which side is playing better. It’s just important that we hold each other up, until they get rolling. When everyone gets rolling, we’ll be a really good team.
There’s no doubt that frustration is starting to bubble up. It’d be odd if it weren’t. Having one of the leaders of your team speak positively after back-to-back clunkers by the offense is a breath of fresh air for LaFleur and Co.
There was and still is a ton of pressure on Green Bay this year to deliver. The Parsons trade put the idea of a Super Bowl window into full motion, despite the Packers having the youngest roster in the NFL for the third year in a row. Sitting at 5-3-1, things can unravel quickly, especially after a 2-0 start. Having Parsons say what he did on Monday night can help keep the ship steady.
It hasn’t been a jolly time for the Packers the last couple of weeks. While it’s incredibly easy to highlight the shortcomings and pitfalls, what this defense has put on display for most of the year deserves more than a pat on the back. Green Bay has a Super Bowl-caliber defense. The offense needs to start doing its part.