Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith opened up a lot of eyes with his performance against the Minnesota Vikings. One of those who came away most impressive was defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

Smith was in the Vikings' backfield all night on “Monday Night Football,” racking up 3.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. He didn't allow Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to get comfortable all night and was a big reason that the Vikings offense had trouble getting any traction.

The Packers defensive play-caller said on Thursday that he couldn't remember a better performance off the top of his head than the one he saw from Smith.

“Certainly not off the top of my head,” Pettine said Thursday when asked he remembered another similar performance via The Packers Wire. “It was, obviously, pretty special. That’s a tribute to him. He prepared well. Thought we had a good plan for him. Played well around him. Guys freed him up in certain circumstances. He made plays.”

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Smith has racked up 13.5 sacks this year and is a big reason has been Pettine's creativity with him. The Packers have consistently moved around Smith to try and get him favorable one on one matchups that he can exploit.

Defensive lineman Kenny Clark is emerging as a threat to offensive lines too, which has made it tough for teams to double team Smith. When there is no double team of Smith, he makes people pay.

Smith will try to wreak havoc on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. If he can do that, the Lions offense is going to have issues moving the ball.