Green Bay’s Defensive Line Picked the Wrong Game To No-Show

The Green Bay Packers’ performance against the New York Giants on Monday night was remarkably lackluster in all three phases, but their defensive line chose a particularly poor game to falter. Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito gained 71 rushing yards with the defense allowing zero sacks and one quarterback hit. All of these contributed significantly to the Packers’ collapse in New York.

Throughout the course of the season, injuries have increased. In New York, the Packers were without Christian Watson, Aaron Jones, Quay Walker, Kai Alexander, and others. However, this year their defensive line has remained mostly healthy. This season, all 13 games have seen the participation of veterans Randy Gary, Kenny Clark, and Preston Smith in addition to rookies Lukas Van Ness and Karl Brooks. With three sacks and seven quarterback hits against Patrick Mahomes more than a week ago, Green Bay’s defensive line had been operating at a high level during its current three-game winning streak. However, against an offensive line that had given up the most pressure in the league, the defensive front was completely inept.

There was no progress made by the defensive line. Sadly for Joe Barry’s team, this wasn’t hand grenades or horseshoes—this was football. Even though Gary is excellent, one of his weaknesses is that he over-pursuits and sells out for the sack only to watch a quarterback escape the pocket and reach the second level. Devito was forced to scramble by the Packers, but he made big play after big play with his feet, escaping pressure and sprinting for ridiculously long yards.

Even though Barry received a lot of flak after the game, our conversation might have been very different if one of the highly compensated linemen had arrived home on DeVito at the appropriate time. DeVito deserves credit for not forcing throws under duress and for going three games in a row without an interception. The secondary gave the defensive line enough time to return home, but there were no coverage sacks. Furthermore, the pass rush did not force any throws that were truly incorrect. Brian Daboll, the coach of the Giants, didn’t ask DeVito to do too much, and he produced an effective 17/21 passing game.

In the upcoming weeks, the Packers won’t play mobile quarterbacks. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are not scheduled to appear. However, Tommy DeVito isn’t exactly incredibly agile. In his five prior games this season, he had averaged slightly over 16 yards per game when rushing, with a total of 13 yards over the last two games. Baker Mayfield can still scoot a little bit, even though he’s not quite the runner he was in college when Green Bay takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week. With quarterbacks like Justin Fields and Brett Young still available, the defensive line must find a way to end a play with a quarterback hit. . At the very least, they must provide some containment so the linebackers can make a play.

In New York, Green Bay’s offense had trouble. Monday night’s offense lacked a certain level of sophistication, which Christian Watson helped to fill. Additionally, Jordan Love was having trouble getting things going with the healthy players he had on hand. Even though Love missed a fair number of throws and running opportunities, the offense wasn’t quite clicking that night.

It was becoming more and more clear as the game went on that the defense would need to devise a play that would change the course of the game. Two excellent opportunities fell into Green Bay’s lap. Midway through the third quarter, a punt deflection gave the Packers great field position. Late in the fourth quarter, Saquon Barkley faltered and stumbled, giving Green Bay hope. Nevertheless, the two giveaways to New York were insufficient to change the course. The defense produced just one more play that could have turned the tide for the Packers.

In the week before the New York game, Green Bay received a good deal of praise following victories over the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers’ flight home was undoubtedly a sobering experience, and what will matter most is how this defense responds in their rematch with the Bucs. The Packers still have some degree of control over whether they make the playoffs. However, the offseason will undoubtedly arrive sooner than most Cheeseheads are hoping if the defense pulls off another disappearing act like it did on Monday evening.