The Green Bay Packers have had problems with their defense to start the 2022 season, but the pass rush hasn’t been one of them.
In Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants, the Packers generated 16 pressures against quarterback Daniel Jones, representing their most since Week 1. However, Jones was able to navigate that pressure to complete 8 out of 10 passes for 65 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.
While Green Bay’s pass rush has been pretty good this season, the backend of the defense hasn’t held up their end. Against the Giants, multiple coverage breakdowns led to easy completions for Jones. The same can be said for the team’s only other loss this season against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers finished with a season-high 20 pressures against Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, yet he finished with his highest passer rating of the season (118.9). Green Bay had a ton of coverage breakdowns in that game as well.
On paper, the Packers have one of the most talented secondaries in the NFL, but for whatever reason, they haven’t played like it for the first five weeks of the regular season.
The pass rush has done its job, as Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark are among the top players at their positions for pressures. However, they can’t also drop into coverage. That is where guys like Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, and Eric Stokes are supposed to shine.
Alexander and Douglas have been mostly good this year, but they could be better. Meanwhile, Stokes is going through a sophomore slump after a promising rookie season. Per PFF, Stokes has allowed a passer rating of 114.6 when he’s been targeted. Last year it was 79.1.
The safety play has also been a black eye for this Green Bay defense.
Fourth-year safety Darnell Savage is having his worst season to date. The former first-round pick has allowed one of the worst passer ratings in the league among safeties. To make matters worse, his coverage grade is the lowest among safeties with at least 100 coverage snaps.
Meanwhile, his teammate Adrian Amos hasn’t been much better, if not worse. Amos has allowed a passer rating of 133.8, which is the fifth highest among safeties with at least 135 coverage snaps.
It just goes to show that a consistent pass rush will only get you so far when the backend isn’t shored up. Sadly for the Packers, the secondary hasn’t lived up to expectations, and a consistent pass rush has gone to waste.
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