With Green Bay Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur under fire for the recent losses, the team is getting hit with criticisms from multiple directions. But the defense has received love. However, the Packers’ defense is not Super Bowl material.
First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. The Packers held the Eagles to 10 points. That should be good enough to win an NFL football game. Quarterback Jordan Love, even with the injuries to his playmakers, should be able to produce more than seven points in a home game.
But let’s dig into that defense and see what’s really going on.
Packers’ defense isn’t aggressive enough
Say what you want about the effort Monday night. The Packers shut the Eagles out in the first half, held Saquon Barkley to 60 yards rushing for the game, limited A.J. Brown to two catches for 13 yards, and kept quarterback Jalen Hurts in check.
What more could be asked of the defense? How about producing a turnover?
On the season, the Packers have forced their opponents into just six turnovers in nine games. They have three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
That ranks them in a tie for No. 29 in the NFL. They are tied with the Commanders and Giants, who have a combined record of 5-15.
When you think of a Super Bowl-level defense, you think not only of turnovers, but that unit basically scoring points. They may get a pick-six or a fumble return for a score. They may get a safety, or they rack up a strip sack and recover the ball deep in the opponent's territory.
When you think of a Super Bowl defense, you think of the opposing offense fearing the defense. And the fear comes from turning the ball over.
The Packers have three games this season with no forced turnovers. And they have ZERO games with multiple forced turnovers. That’s three games with one pick and three games with one fumble recovery.
And here’s the bad thing. This isn’t a talent issue. The Packers are capable of forcing turnovers. They just aren’t doing it.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is getting far too much credit. He’s had a good year, but the defense needs to be more aggressive — at times.
The Packers’ sackers are falling short
Raise your hand if you thought adding Micah Parsons to this defense would make the sacks pile up right and left. After all, the Packers ranked No. 8 in the NFL in 2024 with 45 sacks.
Now that they have Parsons, they rank in a five-way tie for No. 13 with 22 in nine games. As you math majors can see, that’s less than half of last year’s total with less than half of the season remaining.
And yet they have Parsons. Rashan Gary has 7.5 sacks on the season, while Parsons has 6.5. Those are decent numbers with Gary ranking in a tie for No. 7 in the NFL and Parsons tied for No. 13.
But they aren’t eye-popping numbers. They aren’t the kind of offensive devastation numbers many people expected to see from this Packers’ defense.
But the offense is the real problem, right?
In one word, “Maybe.”
Jordan Love has to play better, the line has to block better, the receivers need to catch the football, and Matt LaFleur needs to have a plan that doesn’t allow the defense to yell out the direction of his play in key fourth-down situations.
Love gave kudos to the defense, according to NBC Sports.
“I know as a defense, they definitely have every reason to look at us and say, ‘What are you guys doing?” Love said. “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.”
But Parsons hit the nail on the head. It’s not just the offense or just the defense. The Packers need both of those things working together. If the offense is struggling, the defense needs to force a turnover or get a game-changing sack. If the defense falters, the offense must make plays and move the football.
“It’s just one of them things,” Parsons said. “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.”
And that’s the best thing for the Packers. There’s still time for them to turn this thing around and do serious damage in the postseason.
