Green Bay doesn’t need a full offensive rescue right now. The defense is carrying the story.
After a flat 2-2 start, the Packers have ripped off back-to-back wins in emphatic fashion, and both came with the same theme: the defense set the tone early and never let go. First it was a 31-7 rout of the Bears. Then, in a spot that could have turned into another stumble, Green Bay went into a national-stage matchup and beat the Cowboys 23-13 to improve to 4-2.
That result mattered for more than the record. Dallas, led by Dak Prescott, was held to 13 points or fewer for the first time since Week 6 of the 2024 season.
Green Bay also picked off two Prescott passes, gave up just 48 rushing yards on 3.2 yards per carry, and piled up seven quarterback hits while keeping the Cowboys under control on third down, where Dallas finished 5-of-13. The Packers allowed only four red zone trips, one of them coming in garbage time, and two of those drives ended with no points at all.
The turnaround is striking because the first month looked nothing like this. Green Bay opened the season looking disjointed, losing to the Vikings and backup quarterback Carson Wentz, then getting embarrassed by the previously winless Falcons in a 34-10 loss at Lambeau Field on a Thursday night. The early wins were hardly convincing either: one came against another winless team in the Buccaneers, and the other required overtime against the Jets.
Now the defense is delivering the kind of performance that changes the temperature around a team. And it’s doing it without star edge rusher Micah Parsons and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Parsons is nearing a return from the torn ACL he suffered last December, and what Green Bay has done without him only adds to the intrigue of what this group could become once he is back.
When Parsons played for the Packers last season, he was exactly the force Green Bay expected. The three-time first-team All-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year produced 12.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits, and the Packers surged to 9-4-1 while looking like a real Super Bowl threat. Once he was out, the finish changed fast: Green Bay dropped its final three games and then lost to the Bears, 31-27, in the NFC wild-card round.
Even without him in 2026, the pass rush has found a way to survive. Through six games, the Packers have 15 sacks.
Cooper added three before his Achilles tear, and former first-round picks Lukas Van Ness and Devonte Wyatt have combined for 5.5 sacks. That’s been enough to help the Packers consistently squeeze opposing quarterbacks.
The broader picture looks better because the offense has started to support the defense instead of weighing it down. Matthew Golden produced another 100-yard game, and his rise has been one of the more striking developments of the season. After putting up 361 yards in 17 games last year, he’s already at 503.
Josh Jacobs should help the whole operation once he is reinstated from the commissioner’s exempt list before Week 7. Green Bay’s running game has been stuck in neutral all season, entering Sunday night with a league-worst 302 rushing yards.
That has forced the offense to lean more heavily on the passing game, and it’s fair to expect Jacobs to need some time to get back into game shape. Even so, he should be an upgrade over MarShawn Lloyd and Pierre Strong Jr.
For now, though, the Packers have the luxury of knowing the defense is doing the heavy lifting. Over the past two weeks, Green Bay has shut down the seventh- and 11th-ranked offenses and made both look ordinary.
And with Parsons on the way back, the ceiling may rise again. For a team that looked lost a month ago, that’s a big swing in a hurry.
In Other News...
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For a Dallas team still hanging around in the NFC East despite a 2-4 record, that puts even more weight on Prescott finding his footing quickly. The Cowboys do not have the luxury of waiting long for clean drives and steadier throws, especially with the defense doing enough to keep games within reach. The concern now is not just one poor outing, but whether this stretch has turned into a real problem for a team trying to stay in the division race. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Finally Showed Defensive Life After The Micah Parsons Trade
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Micah Parsons presence on the other sideline gave the game an extra layer, but the bigger takeaway for Dallas was the way the front began to look more active and disruptive. Even in defeat, the pass rush offered a glimpse of what this defense might still be able to become after a rocky stretch, which is at least something for the Cowboys to carry into the next part of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]