Christian Watson says the Packers let down Jordan Love at times.
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GREEN BAY — A few weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons, the Green Bay Packers’ defense was embarrassed at home, surrendering 35 points and almost 500 yards of offense.
Linebacker Zaire Franklin called that performance a “gut punch.”
However, since then, this unit has been firing on all cylinders, holding their last three opponents to 14 points or fewer. That includes Green Bay containing the high-powered Dallas Cowboys’ offense in a 23-13 victory on Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
“I think it's just a credit to who we can be,” Franklin said. “Obviously we got a lot of things to continue to clean up and get better at, but I feel like we (are) a defense on the rise. I think every week we continue to get better and better, taking the ball away, stopping the run, limiting explosive plays. I mean that's recipes to being great.”
The Cowboys entered this game averaging the seventh most points per game at 27.6 per contest and the 10th most yards per play at 5.8. Leading the charge behind Dallas’ early season success on offense has been the passing game, with quarterback Dak Prescott again producing at a high level, while CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens form one of the NFL’s most dynamic wide receiver duos.
But the Packers’ defense was able to keep the Cowboys' explosive passing game in check. Prescott averaged a lowly 4.8 yards per pass attempt, with his longest completion going for 21 yards. He also threw two interceptions. The one-two punch of Lamb and Pickens averaged just 9.5 yards per reception.
Green Bay's run defense, which has been stout most of the season, remained that way, surrendering only 3.2 yards per carry.
When it was all said and done, the Cowboys scored just 13 points after being shut out at halftime and held to seven points late into the fourth quarter. The Cowboys' offense as a whole averaged a meager 4.3 yards per play as well.
“I thought JG was aggressive, getting pressure on the quarterback,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon after the victory. “It’s hard to throw when you’ve got stuff in your face, and I thought the coverage was outstanding. Our guys challenged them. They did a great job. So I was really happy just overall with our whole defensive performance, especially against that offense.”
As the old saying goes, “players make plays,” but Green Bay's defenders are thriving in Gannon’s defensive scheme.
A few weeks ago, Gannon mentioned that when 95% of people think of affecting the quarterback, they think of what happens post-snap. But for Gannon, he thinks of affecting the quarterback pre-snap, specifically by how he disguises coverages.
This takes place at all three levels of Gannon’s defense. The alignments up front may appear similar to the offense play after play, but late movement can cause chaos and test the blocking responsibilities of opposing offensive linemen.
In the secondary, where an opposing quarterback may see Evan Williams or Xavier McKinney when under center versus where they are positioned when he hits the top of his drop, could be two completely different places. On the fly in the midst of a play, the quarterback must decipher the coverage.
“You want to give (the quarterback) a coverage pre-snap and then post-snap you want it to look different,” McKinney said. “That slows down timing, that slows down rhythm. So we're able to do that, we understand that game plan coming into the game and obviously we got the playmakers back there, but once we add that element of adding the disguise game, knowing when to disguise, knowing what to disguise that helps everybody's job a lot more and it's way easier.”
Gannon has also shown that he’s very willing to blitz, and will do so with multiple defenders from various parts of the field, or he will utilize simulated pressures, where defenders show pressure at the line of scrimmage before dropping into coverage at the snap.
These are two more ways to wreak havoc on the quarterback.
“I think it's understanding the defense, knowing what needs to happen before we do things,” safety Javon Bullard said of the unit's success when blitzing. “Us trusting JG to put us in the right calls as well. Just trusting each other. I think you go out there you try to win your one-on-one matchup, whether that's you blitzing on the back, you blitzing on the edge and I think you find ways to rattle the quarterback, that's going to obviously help your defense to be successful.”
The result of the aggressive and disguise-heavy approach that Gannon's defense plays with causes disruption and confusion for the passer, resulting in an often disjointed passing game prone to making mistakes, which the Packers have been able to capitalize on.
After Green Bay's defense managed only seven interceptions all of last season, this year's group already has nine through only six games, which is the most in football.
“I think it's really on our minds,” Bullard said of the interceptions. “Everybody's trying to get the ball in many ways, whether we (are) rushing the passer, whether we (are) getting it out the air, whether we (are) punching it out, or just recovering it. And I think if the ball is consciously on your mind, I think it finds you.”
While the disappointment of the Packers’ performance a few weeks back against Atlanta may have lingered, that outing has proven to be more of an outlier. For the most part, this has been one of the more stingy defenses in football to start the year.
Green Bay's defense isn’t perfect by any means. The pass rush has been unable to generate consistent pressure this season, but Gannon’s creativity as a game planner and his quick-to-adjust scheme have found different ways for the defense to affect the quarterback.
As good as this Packers defense has been, especially as of late, it’s still early in the season, which means there is plenty more room to grow.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love passes against the Dallas Cowboys during the during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams during the during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd runs the ball against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Ameer Speed during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers running back Pierre Strong Jr. runs the ball against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaishawn Barham during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers running back Pierre Strong Jr. reacts during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden scores a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Ameer Speed during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb makes a catch against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love runs the ball against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rashan Gary during the first half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott reacts after a hit by the Green Bay Packers during the first half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers safety Evan Williams, center, reacts after making an interception against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is hit as he passes by Green Bay Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin during the first half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer looks on during the first half against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur looks on during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft is tackled by Dallas Cowboys safety Malik Hooker during the second quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden makes a catch against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford leaps over Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb runs the ball against Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse during the third quarter on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy is tackled by Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie during the second half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is tackled by the Green Bay Packers during the second half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse is helped off the field after an apparent injury during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb runs the ball against Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon during the second half on Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.