The Packers didn’t look much like a team headed anywhere after three weeks. They stumbled out of the gate with a Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, barely survived the New York Jets in Week 2, and then got smacked around by the Atlanta Falcons in prime time in Week 3.
Since then, the whole operation has changed.
Green Bay has strung together three straight wins to move to 4-2, and the rise has come with better play on both sides of the ball. The offensive line has started to settle in despite the injuries, Josh Jacobs is set to return in Week 7, and the passing game has taken off. Jordan Love is scorching right now, and Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have emerged as one of the league’s most promising young receiver tandems.
Still, the clearest reason for the turnaround is on defense. Jonathan Gannon, in his first season as the Packers’ defensive coordinator, is beginning to mold this group into something far more dangerous, even while Micah Parsons continues working back from a torn ACL.
That matters now because Green Bay is staring at one of its biggest tests of the year: a Lions offense loaded with weapons and built to stress every part of a defense. The good news for the Packers is that Gannon has already shown he has answers that can bother even elite offenses.
The catch is that Green Bay is still a little thin in a few places. Its four-man pass rush, without Parsons, hasn’t been enough on its own, even with Lukas Van Ness putting together a breakout season. The cornerback situation is also unsettled, with Keisean Nixon on one side and rookie Brandon Cisse on the other.
So Gannon has leaned hard into the zero blitz over the last three weeks, and quarterbacks have felt it. The early victims were Jalon Daniels and Tyson Bagent, but Dak Prescott also got a heavy dose of pressure in Week 6 and Green Bay kept forcing him into uncomfortable spots.
Against Daniels in Week 4, the Packers blitzed 15 times and got exactly what they wanted: 7-of-12 passing for 53 yards, one interception, and three sacks. Green Bay allowed -0.69 EPA per play on those blitz snaps.
A week later, when Gannon only had to send extra rushers six times against the Bears’ backup quarterbacks, the Packers still dominated, allowing -0.89 EPA per play.
Then came Prescott. Green Bay blitzed him 20 times in Week 6.
He wasn’t sacked on those plays, but he was pressured on nine of them and went 12-of-20 for 79 yards. The Packers also created free runners on key third- and fourth-down snaps to get the ball back.
That approach is going to be tested against Jared Goff, who has a strong track record versus the blitz. Over each of the last four seasons, Goff has ranked in the top 10 in EPA per dropback against the blitz, and he is on pace to make that five in a row.
But the picture changes once the pressure actually arrives. In three of the last four seasons, he has finished well outside the top 10 in EPA per play when pressured.
That is where Green Bay’s plan comes into focus. Expect Gannon to attack early and often, especially against a Lions offensive line that is still in transition, with the goal of getting Goff uncomfortable before Detroit settles in.
There is also a specific matchup the Packers have to solve: backs in the passing game. Green Bay has been strong against the pass over the last three weeks, but the offenses it faced did not lean heavily on running backs as receivers.
That has not been the case when opponents have gone to the backfield this season. Those throws have produced +0.24 EPA per dropback against the Packers, the fifth-highest mark in the league.
Detroit is built to punish that. Jahmyr Gibbs has been one of the league’s most dangerous pass-catching backs, functioning almost like an extra wideout out of the backfield. He leads the NFL by a wide margin in receiving yards per game among running backs, and his target rate is fifth at the position, according to Next Gen Stats.
Goff has made the most of that weapon. On backfield targets this season, he is 25-of-30 for 258 yards and two touchdowns, with a +0.60 EPA per dropback that is tied with Lamar Jackson for the best in the NFL.
Gibbs’ improved pass protection will also be part of the equation, and that figure to be tested against a Packers defense that loves to bring pressure on obvious passing downs. But Detroit can answer by getting Gibbs into space through leaks and screens, which is exactly the kind of counter that can make an aggressive defense pay.
That should keep Gibbs busy Sunday, and it should give the Lions a path to turn Green Bay’s pressure-heavy plan against it.
In Other News...
Packers Rookie Is Already Making Draft Doubters Look Wrong
Dani Dennis-Sutton arrived in Green Bay with plenty of questions attached to him after the Packers made him a fourth-round pick, and some pre-draft evaluations wondered whether his pass-rushing ceiling would be enough to translate right away. Early in his rookie season, he has done more than answer those doubts. He has given the Packers another useful piece on defense, showing up against the run, playing with consistency and carving out a real role sooner than many expected.
The most encouraging part for Green Bay is how quickly Dennis-Sutton has turned limited opportunities into impact snaps. Even without a full workload in the pass rush, he has been one of the more productive rookies at getting after the quarterback, a sign that his game is already playing above the projection many scouts attached to him in the spring. For a defense looking for young, dependable contributors, that kind of early return matters. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Special Teams May Be Becoming A Real Edge At Perfect Time
Special teams has started to look like a real asset for Green Bay at a useful moment, and coordinator Cam Achord says the improvement has come from steady work behind the scenes as the Packers prepare for Detroit. He pointed to the value of the practice squad, the way snaps are being distributed among different players, and the recent lift in the coverage units as signs that the group is settling into a more dependable rhythm.
Achord also singled out kicker Trey Smack as part of that upward trend, noting both his progress and his readiness as he keeps getting more game work. The Packers have spent enough time this season looking for hidden edges that a cleaner special teams operation could matter more than it usually does, and this week offers another chance to see whether the field-position side of the roster is truly becoming a strength. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Have Put The NFC North Right Back In Play
After an opening loss, the Packers have steadied themselves with three straight wins and four victories in their last five, and suddenly the NFC North looks like a division with no easy path forward. Green Bay sits second in the standings behind Minnesota, but the broader picture is what matters for the Packers right now: all four teams in the division have winning records, and each one is staring at a schedule that should keep the race tight well into the winter.
Minnesota still holds the edge at 5-0, yet the Vikings have their own offensive concerns to sort through, and their remaining slate does not look forgiving. For Green Bay, the encouraging part is that the climb is already underway, and the margin for error across the division is thin enough that every week can reshape the conversation in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]