Packers’ Hot-and-Cold Pass Rush Must Heat Up vs. Lions’ Jared Goff

The only hope against the hottest quarterback in the league will be for the Packers to bring the heat against the Lions’ Jared Goff.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff escapes the pressure of Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt last season. / Mark Hoffman-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – By one measure, the Green Bay Packers’ pass rush entering Sunday’s NFC showdown against the Detroit Lions has been fine. They rank eighth in sacks and 13th in sack percentage.

However, the pass rush has run asphalt-in-July hot and Frozen Tundra cold. Of their 21 sacks, eight came against Tennessee and four came against Houston. To keep athletic quarterbacks in the pocket, they mush-rushed against the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Colts’ Anthony Richardson and the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, which skewed the overall numbers.

But the Packers had only one sack against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, a game they were leading for most of the day while facing a quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who is much more dangerous through the air than on the ground.

Green Bay’s pass rush must be at its best against Jared Goff and the Lions on Sunday, especially if the Packers’ secondary is down a couple starters.

“Just look at the numbers,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “They tell you everything. And then you watch the tape and it backs it up. So, I think he’s doing a great job, he’s a guy that if you give him time, he’s going to make you pay. He’s going to find the right guys. If you give him a sliver of light to make the pass, he’s going to take advantage of that.”

Goff might be the NFL MVP if the season were to end today. He’s not just as hot as any quarterback in the NFL. He’s as hot as any quarterback in NFL history.

Last week, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete at least 72.0 percent of his passes with two-plus touchdown passes and a 110-plus passer rating in five consecutive games. During that span, his 83.0 percent completion rate and 146.5 passer rating are NFL records.

For the season, Goff leads the NFL in completion percentage (74.1) and yards per attempt (8.97) and is second in passer rating (115.3; just behind Lamar Jackson’s 115.4).

Really, the only way to counter Goff’s staggering efficiency is to make him uncomfortable. That’s easier said than done, though. With arguably the NFL’s best right tackle (Penei Sewell), one of the best centers (Frank Ragnow), an established left tackle (Taylor Decker) and a pair of veteran guards (Kevin Zeitler and Graham Glasgow), Goff is protected by The Great Wall of Detroit.

According to ESPN, the Lions rank fifth in pass-block win rate while the Packers are 30th in pass-rush win rate.

“I’d like to be better every week,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “We need to be better than we were last week. And I said that the week before, regardless of how we played. I know our pass rush has gotten better, and it’s gotten a lot of people’s attention and you can see that by the way people are trying to block us.

“When you combine the pressures that we have, the different looks that we have and the players that we have up front and the ability to rush four or send however many that we want, I think they’ve done a nice job with the pressures and with the sacks that we’ve gotten. Our pressure rates are pretty good and our sack rates are pretty good.”

Green Bay’s best pass rusher, Rashan Gary, has just two sacks. He wasn’t touched on either – there was an early snap against Philadelphia and the right tackle fell against Houston. However, he’s been chipped at the sixth-highest rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

Gary rushes mostly from the defense’s left, which means a matchup against Sewell. According to PFF, he’s allowed zero sacks this year and only one over the last 36 games dating to midseason in 2022. Gary might get more one-on-one opportunities than he has all season because the Lions have supreme confidence in Sewell to impose his will on any defender in the league.

The left side of Detroit’s line is at least a little vulnerable with Decker and Glasgow.

“Their offensive line is probably the best that we’ve seen,” Hafley said.

The first five games, Goff was sacked a total of 11 times. Against the Vikings and Titans the last two weeks, though, Goff was dropped four times in each. The Tennessee game was a bit of an eye-opener. The Lions won 52-14, so Goff threw only 15 passes but was under pressure on six of his 19 dropbacks.

Of 39 quarterbacks to face 20 under-pressure dropbacks, Goff is second in completion percentage and yards per attempt and sixth in passer rating. However, he fumbled twice in each of the last two games.

Green Bay’s only sack last week was Edgerrin Cooper’s sack/strip, which the Packers turned into a critical touchdown.

The Lions, who are No. 1 in the NFL in scoring, are expecting a bigger challenge this week.

“Jeff Hafley’s a hell of a coach,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I think this defense is humming. Kenny Clark is an outstanding player. We know about Gary. I can go across the board. (Safety Xavier) McKinney, (Linebacker) Quay Walker, (Cornerback Jaire) Alexander, they’ve got players and they’re playing hard defensively. So, this is a damn good defense.”

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