Closer look at Packers’ defensive turnaround, dominance without two of its biggest stars

When superstar cornerback Jaire Alexander injured his right shoulder in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, serious questions were raised about how the Packers’ pass defense would hold up.

With much-maligned former starting cornerback Kevin King stepping into a bigger role, rookie Eric Stokes assuming the role of CB1, Chandon Sullivan seeing an increase in snaps and journeyman Rasul Douglas entering the equation after being signed off the street Oct. 6, it was fair to wonder how the defense would perform.

In the first four weeks of the season, the Packers gave up 38 points to the New Orleans Saints, 17 points to the Detroit Lions, 28 points to the San Francisco 49ers and 17 points to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their red zone defense was abysmal early on, at one point allowing 15 touchdowns on 15 trips to the red zone to opposing teams.

As the season went on and injuries mounted, Joe Barry’s defense showed signs of improvement. Lately, it’s been dominating.

In Week 8, the Packers defense held quarterback Kyler Murray and the undefeated Arizona Cardinals to 21 points. Murray finished the game with 0 touchdown passes and two interceptions. While the defense benefitted from the absence of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who re-aggravated an injury during the game and only played 15 snaps, it was still a very impressive showing against a top quarterback.

In Week 9, the Packers defense held quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense to 13 points, three of which came off a fumbled punt and offensive drive started from the Green Bay 5-yard line. Mahomes was limited to one touchdown pass and 166 passing yards on 37 attempts (4.5 yards per attempt). When you factor in the multiple special teams gaffes, offensive struggles and injured star defensive players, the performance was nothing short of sensational.

In Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks, the Packers defense held an offense with quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receivers D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to 0 points. Wilson passed for 161 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions and averaged a measly 4.0 YPA in the shutout loss.

High-level play from its healthy defensive stars and elevated play from its complimentary starters and backups have transformed this unit into one of the very best in the NFL.

Over the last three weeks, the Packers defense allowed 34 combined points to Wilson, Murray and Mahomes. Currently, it ranks third in total defense with 309.9 yards and 18.0 points allowed per game. It also ranks sixth in takeaways with 16 and is currently the top-ranked team in tackling efficiency, per PFF.

Surprisingly good cornerback play might be the biggest reason for the Packers’ defensive turnaround, but there’s plenty of other contributing factors to look at as well.

Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have been a very good safety duo this year, despite limited turnover production. They simply aren’t allowing the big plays that have killed the Packers in the past. Since misjudging the trajectory of a deep pass and surrendering a long touchdown to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in Week 5, Savage hasn’t been torched deep.

No players have been more surprising for the Packers defense lately than Douglas and King, who have both been playing probably the best football of their professional careers the last few weeks. After losing his full-time outside cornerback job early in the season, King has rebounded in a big way.

Through Week 10, he’s graded as Pro Football Focus’ ninth-best cornerback with a 76.0 grade. Last week against the Seahawks, he allowed two catches for 10 yards on four targets and earned an elite 91.9 game grade. Douglas has been stingy in coverage and physical against the run in his spot starts. His late fourth-quarter interception in Week 8 helped the Packers knock off the undefeated Cardinals.

Stokes has also played relatively well this season and shown glimpses of future stardom. Per PFF, he allowed zero catches on four targets across 47 coverage snaps against the Seahawks. He certainly benefitted from a highly effective Packers’ pass rush this past week, which totaled a whopping 32 pressures, per PFF, but Stokes played an excellent game in his own right against Lockett and Metcalf.

Other factors such as Kenny Clark’s continued dominance, De’Vondre Campbell and Rashan Gary’s breakouts and Preston Smith and Dean Lowry’s resurgent seasons have helped the Packers defense dominate, even while stars like Alexander and Za’Darius Smith have been sidelined.

For further context, Gary is tied for fifth in the NFL with 46 pressures and currently sits at a career-high 5.5 sacks. Last but not least, give defensive coordinator Joe Barry a lot of credit, especially for elevating Campbell, who is having an All-Pro caliber season.