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The Green Bay Packers managed to take care of business in Week 16 by clinching the NFC North with a win over the Minnesota Vikings. Although they managed to get the job done on both sides of the ball, it was the defense that stepped up big with the division on the line.
Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine revealed that the defense did not miss a single tackle during the 23-10 win, via Zach Kruse of the Packers Wire.
“Just from our records, I think it was our first game all year without a missed tackle,” Pettine said.
There is no question that this is quite an impressive feat for this defense. More importantly, it translated into a decisive win for Green Bay as they held Minnesota's offense to just 139 total yards.
Pettine specifically pointed out the job Kevin King and Jaire Alexander had done in the secondary to help quell the Vikings' run game. Linebacker Blake Martinez led the way by securing all eight of his tackles while outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith did most of his work in the backfield with a whopping 3.5 sacks.
All in all, it was the type of effort Pettine's group needed in order to make the necessary improvements heading into the postseason. Despite their 12-3 record, Green Bay has largely flown under the radar as a bonafide championship contender due to the nature of their losses run the 2019 campaign. Regardless, they will certainly be a tough team to beat in the postseason if they can keep up this kind of effort when it comes to tackling.
