In back-to-back games, it’s been the Green Bay Packers’ defense that has looked good and the offense that has struggled. Still, 5-0 is an undefeated record no matter how it happens, and that’s where head coach Mike McCarthy and his team find themselves after a victory over the St. Louis Rams.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Packers’ 24-10 win:
1. Defense carries the team ... again
In Week 4, Green Bay allowed three points to the 49ers. In Week 5, the Packers gave up 10 points. That’s only one touchdown allowed in two games – and both happening when Green Bay’s offense wasn’t clicking. Dom Capers’ group needed to play that well in both games in order for the Packers to win, and they did just that.
The pressure was constant on St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles. Green Bay was credited with 13 QB hits and 10 hurries, according to ProFootballFocus. That means Foles was hit on nearly half of his 30 passing attempts.
Capers dialed up a blitz 12 times. Four of those blitzes resulted in sacks. Another blitz concluded with an interception.
But even when the Packers weren’t blitzing, they were flustering Foles with four-man rushes. Three of Foles’ four interceptions occurred on non-blitzing plays. Quinten Rollins gets most of the glory for having two interceptions – and for returning one for a touchdown, but the ball fell into his arms mainly because Foles was hurried. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, on the other hand, very much earned his interception with a great effort following a pass breakup by Nate Palmer in the end zone.
Green Bay can look back on its fourth and fifth wins of the season and thank its defense.
2. NFL’s second-best defense?
Don’t look now, but the Packers are ranked second in the NFL in two of the most important defensive statistical categories: sacks and interceptions.
With three sacks and four interceptions against St. Louis, Green Bay only trails Denver in sacks (Broncos have 22) and Arizona in interceptions (Cardinals have 11). That’s it. Every other team in the league is looking up at the Packers in those two areas.
Plus, Green Bay is only chasing two teams in points allowed per game. The Packers are now ranked third in the NFL in that category, behind Denver and the New York Jets.
Through five games, the statistics indicate quite clearly that Green Bay has one of the best defenses in the league.
3. The rare bad game and rare interception(s) from Aaron Rodgers
It was impossible not to hear about Rodgers’ ridiculous no-interceptions streak at Lambeau Field. It dated back to Dec. 2, 2012, a game against the Vikings in which Rodgers was picked off by then-rookie Harrison Smith. Since then, Rodgers had thrown 586 passes without being intercepted. That was until Rams safety/linebacker Mark Barron tipped Rodgers’ pass near the line of scrimmage, and linebacker James Laurinaitis dove and grabbed the ball before it hit the ground.
Rodgers’ next interception-less streak didn’t last quite as long. Six pass attempts later, Trumaine Johnson stepped in front of a Rodgers pass and gave the reigning MVP his second INT of the game.
The usually turnover-free Rodgers wasn’t done, either. He later had the ball stripped out of his hand, which was recovered by St. Louis.
Three turnovers committed by Rodgers (or any NFL quarterback) should result in a loss for his team. In this case, it didn’t, which goes back to the credit belonging to Green Bay’s defense.
Two weeks after being compared to Michael Jordan, Rodgers had one of his worst performances in quite a while.
4. No success in the running game
Eddie Lacy and James Starks combined for 44 yards on 22 carries. The Rams have one of the best defensive lines in the league, and they showed why.
It takes extraordinary effort from defensive players to make Josh Sitton and Corey Linsley look like below-average run-blockers, but that’s exactly what happened in this game.
It wasn’t that Lacy and Starks lost yardage on their rushes, but when St. Louis made first contact, the Packers’ runners were brought down. Lacy and Starks didn’t break a single tackle.
Rodgers scrambled for 39 yards to lead Green Bay in rushing. It’s never a good sign when Rodgers tops the list of Packers rushing yards.
5. Jordy Nelson’s absence becoming more noticeable
A theory exists that Rodgers can make any wide receiver look really good. Sometimes, that appears to be true. But over the past two games, Rodgers has not been able to do that.
The receivers aren’t creating separation, and Rodgers hasn’t had the trust or confidence to force the ball into tighter-than-usual coverage.
The deep passes have especially vanished, and that’s mostly a result of Nelson being on injured reserve and not on the field. Of Rodgers’ 241 passing yards against St. Louis, 183 were yards after catch (according to data from ProFootballFocus).
Nelson isn’t coming back this season, and right now, opposing defenses are able to bank on Rodgers not having the necessary weapons to take shots downfield. For the offense to thrive again, the Packers need to stretch the field, and they clearly need to find somebody other than Nelson to do that.
