Tag: Green Bay Packers defense

A Commander was NFL’s ‘best player’ in Week 16

One former NFL QB says Commanders QB Jayden Daniels was the NFL’s best player in Week 16.

“Jayden Daniels was the best player in the NFL this weekend.”

When was the last time you heard a NFL television analyst say such thing about a Washington Redskin or Washington Commander?

That was how Dan Orlovsky opened his comments Monday regarding the Commanders’ 36-33 come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor rushed for three touchdowns on his way to 218 rushing yards as the Colts defeated the Titans. Taylor’s effort was the only other possible candidate for the best overall performance in Week 16 games.

As for which team might have been the best in Week 16? That would go to the Green Bay Packers, who pulled off the first defensive shutout of the season when they blanked the New Orleans Saints 34-0 on MNF.

Daniels completed 24 of 39 passing attempts for 258 yards. There were two interceptions; however, there were also five touchdown passes. Not to be missed, the Eagles put good pressure on Daniels several times, but he managed to escape, only being sacked once.

The Eagles pretty much shut down the Commanders’ rushing attack. However, Daniels was also quite effective running, gaining 81 yards on his nine carries.

On the final play of the third quarter, trailing 27-14, Washington was in a tough spot. It was 4th down & 11 from just outside the Eagles’ 41.  Dan Quinn elected to see if Daniels could make a play. However, the pocket quickly broke down, and Daniels ran up the middle of the field. When three Eagles converged at the 33, Daniels suddenly cut to his right and appeared to cause all three to miss entirely. He avoided another tackler at the 25, gaining 29 yards to the Eagles’ 11. Daniels finished the drive, finding Olamide Zaccheaus from four yards out, making it a 27-21.

Moments later, Daniels found Zaccheaus from 49 yards, giving the Commanders their first lead of the day (28-27). Trailing again 33-28 with 1:57 remaining, Daniels found Zaccheaus for seven yards and Terry McLaurin for ten.  Daniels then ran up the middle for 12 yards. McLaurin was again on the receiving end of a 10-yard gain.

From the nine, Daniels dropped back and found Jamison Crowder in the back of the end zone for the game-winning score.

Orlovsky might have been right, Daniels might just have been the best player in the NFL last Sunday.

 

The Green Bay Packers flipped their defense, and saved their season

The Green Bay Packers made some much-needed defenses changes to fool Dak Prescott and the Cowboys in a season-saving win.

The Green Bay Packers were all too close to their season being over as they prepared to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Through the first ten weeks of the season, the Packers experienced frustration on both sides of the ball. But in Green Bay’s 31-28 victory, when the offense finally came together, it was critical for the defense to step up and make plays, which  they did.

Prior to this week, the Packers overall defensive DVOA was ranked 18th with 1.3%. With key defenders Eric Stokes,  De’Vondre Campbell, and Rashan Gary out, it wasn’t looking good. Yet, that defense played its best game of the season on Sunday.

Instead of leaving Darnell Savage in the safety position, defensive coordinator Joe Barry rotated Savage to the nickel corner spot, and upgraded Rudy Ford to the starting free safety position. Ford grabbed two interceptions, which changed the entire dynamic of the game.

Let’s pull the film to see how the Packers made adjustments on the defensive side of the ball to pull out their first win in five weeks!

How the Packers’ defense could get Green Bay to Super Bowl LVII

The Packers have methodically built a new defense over the last few years. Now is the time when it might all come together — perhaps with a Super Bowl berth.

On May 16, the Green Bay Packers made Jaire Alexander the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback with a four-year, $84 million contract extension that included a $30 million signing bonus and keeps Alexander in that defense through the 2026 season if everything works out. This was part of a concerted effort by general manager Brian Gutekunst to give his defense marquee players at every level, whether that shorts Aaron Rodgers of offensive weapons or not.

Alexander missed the last three months of the 2021 regular season with a shoulder injury, returning for Green Bay’s divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but the Packers had a great plan in place in Alexander’s stead. They signed cornerback Rasul Douglas off the Cardinals’ practice squad in early October, and Douglas managed to define his new secondary as he had never before in his career. 2021 first-round cornerback Eric Stokes played well, safeties Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos held things up pretty well at the safety positions, and free agent signing De’Vondre Campbell had a Rasul Douglas-like impact at the inside linebacker position — something the Packers have lacked for the most part since the days of Ray Nitschke.

The Packers doubled down on their defensive intentions in the first round of the 2022 draft. With the 22nd overall pick, acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders in the Davante Adams trade, Green Bay took linebacker Quay Walker, and went after Walker’s Georgia teammate, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, with the 28th overall pick. The Packers did take two receivers for Rodgers later in the draft — North Dakota State’s Christian Watson in the second round, and Nevada’s Romeo Doubs in the fourth — but it’s interesting that the predominant mindset for this team, with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history in a shorter age window, has been mostly about the defensive side of the ball.

“I would say the expectations we have for our whole football team, but specifically our defense, is really high,” Gutekunst said last month after the draft. “I thought they played really well last year and they ended on a very high note, playing at a very high level. We’ve got some guys coming back who will be here for their second year and be important. I like the way that group is growing together. It’s a new season, and they’ve got to put in the work and the time and the chemistry and all the things that go with that, but I think the expectation level for that group is going to be high.”

The thing is, the Packers’ defense was still more vulnerable than the organization would have liked. Green Bay ranked 22nd in Football Outsiders’ Defensive DVOA metric — 16th against the pass, and 28th against the run. Moreover, the Packers had more defensive issues as the season went along; they dropped from 15th to 25th overall from Week 10 through the end of the regular season, 12th to 18th against the pass, and 24th to 28th against the run. Green Bay prevented the San Francisco 49ers from scoring an offensive touchdown in the divisional round in what turned out to be a special teams debacle for the team, but it was clear that more was needed.

If the pieces all come together, it might be defense, not Rodgers and his remaining targets, that could lead the Packers to their sixth Super Bowl, and perhaps their fifth Lombardi Trophy.

Here’s how it could happen, from the front of the defense to the back.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).