The Green Bay Packers’ defense leaned into one of its more unconventional pressure looks in Week 2, and Jonathan Gannon reached for it at least five times. The result was exactly what defenses want from this kind of call: one incompletion, a few plays that only went for minimal yards, and an offense that was kept largely stuck in place until Green Bay eventually took control late and won.
What stood out was the structure of the pressure itself. This was an overload blitz, a scheme built to create a numbers edge on one side of the protection.
Instead of spreading the rush evenly, the defense loaded up four rushers to one side and forced the blocking rules to sort it out. That usually means the tackle, guard and running back are suddenly dealing with more bodies than they were built to handle.
The other piece of the design is just as important. When the defense commits that many rushers to one side, it can pull the opposite-edge rusher out of the hunt and drop him into coverage instead.
That lets the defense keep zone help behind the pressure while still bringing heat. In some versions, a nose tackle or another interior lineman becomes the backside contain player, giving the defense a different kind of edge rush without losing discipline in the lane.
On this call, the blitz brought five rushers, with four coming from the weak side of the protection and one slanting away from the call. Two rushers came through the A-gap, which put immediate stress on the running back’s assignment. Zaire Franklin and Brenton Cox handled the low-zone drops off the line of scrimmage, while Evan Williams added to the rush as the safety walked down.
That’s why the concept works. It attacks the protection rules directly.
Most pass protections are built for a standard four-man rush, not a defense that suddenly piles extra pressure onto one side and dares the offense to sort out the mismatch. Once that side gets overloaded, the running back is caught in conflict, the line can get forced into bad decisions, and the quarterback can end up throwing off schedule.
It also makes the offensive line slide toward the pressure, which can leave the other side exposed or create confusion over who takes the extra rusher. Defenses can even hide the true point of attack until the last moment, showing pressure one way before the snap and then sending the extra heat from somewhere else entirely.
That’s why overload pressure is so effective on passing downs. It pairs cleanly with tight man or zone coverage behind it, allowing the defense to sell the pass, clog throwing lanes, and then rally once the quarterback is forced to get rid of the ball in a hurry.
And because the rush lane and coverage rotation can change from snap to snap, even a prepared offensive line can struggle to track where the free rusher is actually coming from. At its core, the whole idea is about manufacturing a 4-over-3 mismatch, using scheme, disguise and coaching to create pressure instead of relying only on raw talent.
In Other News...
Packers Face An Unusual Lambeau Threat Hours Before Kickoff
A Thursday night game at Lambeau Field usually brings the kind of demand that disappears long before kickoff, but this week has been different. The Packers still have roughly 700 primary tickets listed on the official market, and secondary-market prices have slipped as the matchup with the Falcons has approached, an unusual scene for a franchise known for a long streak of continuous sellouts.
The softening demand appears tied in part to Atlantas poor early-season record, which has not exactly turned this into a must-see draw for casual buyers. With kickoff only hours away, Green Bay may need to lean on pricing adjustments or other channels to move the remaining seats, a rare bit of game-day business intrigue for a place where tickets are usually the hard part. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Jacobs Case Just Raised A Bigger Packers Question
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For the Packers, the more immediate concern is the football side of a situation that still has no clear endpoint. Jacobs remains on the NFL commissioner exempt list as the league reviews the video, and the lack of a suspension announcement keeps the team in a waiting game, with an important roster question hanging over a player Green Bay expected to be part of its plans. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Face A Tougher Thursday Test At Lambeau Than Fans Expected
The Packers get an early chance to settle back into Lambeau on Thursday night, but this one is shaping up to be a little more demanding than the spread might suggest. Green Bay is favored by 4.5 points against Atlanta in the Week 3 opener, yet the matchup comes with enough uncertainty to keep things interesting, especially with the Packers dealing with offensive line injuries and the betting market leaning toward a lower-scoring game.
Atlanta has not exactly looked explosive through two weeks, but the Falcons do have Michael Penix, Jr. back at quarterback, which adds another layer to a game that already feels tighter than a typical home favorite would prefer. For Green Bay, the bigger concern is whether the front five can hold up well enough to let the offense function normally, because if this turns into the kind of grind the numbers are hinting at, every possession at Lambeau could matter. [Read more 🡒]