The Green Bay Packers stabilized on defense over the last three games, holding Daniel Jones’ New York Giants, Dwayne Haskins’ Washington Redskins and Mitchell Trubisky’s Chicago Bears to just 41 total points in the three Green Bay victories.
Now, the Packers defense needs to produce a statement game on Monday night against Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings.
Mike Pettine’s group ranks ninth in the NFL in points allowed per game. They’ve held seven opponents under 20 points and rank among the NFL’s best at generating turnovers and holding teams out of the end zone inside the red zone.
However, save for an impressive Week 2 performance against Cousins and the Vikings, the Packers have mostly beaten up on bad offenses with young quarterbacks and struggled against most teams with experienced passers.
Getting to the Super Bowl is going to require the Packers to beat at least one of the great passers heading to the NFC playoffs, possibly even on the road. Doing it now won’t mean they’ll do it again, but it sure would create some confidence in a young group that has been up and down for much of the year.
Facing Cousins and the Vikings’ fifth-ranked scoring defense at U.S. Bank Stadium will provide another litmus test for the Packers defense, even if Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook doesn’t play.
Cousins has been terrific for most of the 2019 season. He’s third in the NFL in completion percentage and fourth in passer rating and yards per attempt.
At home, Cousins is completing over 80 percent of his passes, with 10 touchdowns and one interception and a passer rating of 126.0. The Vikings are averaging 27.7 points per game and haven’t lost at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Like the offense, the Packers defense has flashed bursts of dominance this season. They have the pass rush and secondary players to compete with anyone, but the group has lacked game-to-game consistency, mostly due to lingering issues stopping the run and preventing big plays.
The Packers have improved slightly against the run over the last month and should be more confident in the secondary after making life difficult on three young quarterbacks. It’s time to apply those improvements to a skilled opponent with an experienced quarterback in a tough environment.
Monday night in Minnesota should be a terrific opportunity for the Packers to prove they are playoff-ready on defense.