In the team’s first game of the season, it was no secret that Green Bay’s driving force to a victory was the stellar play from its defensive line and linebackers.
Last season, the Detroit Lions led the NFL in scoring and were sixth in the NFL in total rushing yards. On Sunday against Green Bay, the Lions were only able to muster six points, before a garbage time touchdown (to make it 13 points) and were only able to rush for 46 yards. With struggles in both rushing and scoring, seeing what the Packers were able to do on its front seven shows that this team is going to go as far as that unit takes it.
During the game, Green Bay totaled nine tackles for losses, nine quarterback hits and four sacks. Out of those nine tackles for losses, seven players recorded them, including Quay Walker and Colby Wooden recording two each.
Micah Parsons is going to be a big key to that front seven for the Packers, but as it showed in this game against Detroit, just his presence alone is enough to free up other players to succeed in their roles. As he looks to come back from a back injury, as well as get back into football shape, Parsons played just 29 snaps. During those 29 snaps, Parsons was double-teamed on 23% of them, giving players like Lukas Van Ness, who recorded a half of a sack, and Rashan Gary, who recorded 1.5 sacks, the opportunity to get after the quarterback.
“How many times did they rush? And we held them to 50 yards rushing, so we got some real dogs up front,” said Parsons. “That allows me to take my time to get all the way back.”
Parsons is alluding to a back injury that has limited him throughout the summer, as well as in the first game of the season. The Packers signed Parsons to a four-year contract, meaning that he is going to be a part of the team until at least the 2028-29 season. While it would be nice to have him on the field on every single play, he is right, there really does not need to be a rush to get him back.
With Parsons taking his time to recover and staying a part of a rotation, Van Ness, Gary, Walker, Wooden and Devonte Wyatt can all get those much needed positive reps to build their confidence. That confidence will inevitably pay off when Parsons returns to full strength. If the Lions game was any indicator, this front seven will be playing with high confidence all season long.
“You see Van Ness, you see (Karl Brooks), Rashan, you know I don’t have to be in a rush to get back, this team is so loaded and the sky is the limit,” said Parsons. “I think we are going to be a really good football team.”
Stopping the run and putting pressure on the quarterback is ultimately the key to dominating the game on the defensive side of the ball. If you can turn the opponent into a one dimensional offense, the guessing game is eliminated. With a team being one-dimensional and a strong front seven, the defensive backs won’t need to cover as long, leading to more pass deflections and interceptions.
Without the household names in the cornerback room for the Packers, getting as much pressure as possible will be key in giving Jordan Love and the offense as many opportunities as possible to score points.
“When you have them backed up and they have to punt and you have a short field and you capitalize on that and go score a touchdown, that is the epitome of complementary football,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “That’s what we have got to do.”
LaFleur talking about complementary football, goes back to the front seven’s effort in limiting opposing offenses. If the defense does it job, it makes the offense’s job that much easier, which in turn makes the special teams’ job that much easier, leading to that complementary football.
