Packers Report Card: Midseason Grades on Defense

The Packers are 12th in points allowed. Turnovers have been key, the run defense surprising and the pass rush feeble.

Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney (29) celebrates an interception with safety Evan Williams (33) at Jacksonville. / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are 6-3 at the bye, thanks in part to Jeff Hafley’s takeaway-producing defense. At the unofficial midpoint of the season, let’s hand out some midterm grades on defense.

Passing Defense

The Packers are fourth in the NFL with 10 interceptions. However, they had seven in the first three games and nine in the first five games but just one over the past four games.

When the turnover well goes dry, it’s up to the defense to win via consistent, quality defense.

The Packers haven’t really done that. It’s not like they’ve been terrible but they haven’t been consistently good enough. The Packers are 18th in yards allowed per passing play, 15th in completion percentage and 13th in sack percentage.

On one hand, only seven teams have allowed more 20-yard completions. On the other hand, on third-and-long (7-plus yards) passes, Green Bay is fifth with an opponent conversion rate of 17.9 percent. Last year, Green Bay ranked 30th at 30.0 percent.

Safety Xavier McKinney might be the best free-agent signing by any team this year. His six interceptions, consistently solid coverage and typically strong tackling have changed the defense. His leadership can’t be found in any set of stats.

Last year, Green Bay had seven interceptions as a team, so McKinney has almost that many by himself, and McKinney has twice as many interceptions as all of Green Bay’s safeties combined. In four seasons with the Packers, Adrian Amos had seven. In his last three seasons in Green Bay, Darnell Savage had three.

Two more additions at safety, rookies Javon Bullard and Evan Williams, have been strong, too. Hafley has zeroed in on Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon at corner, Bullard in the slot, McKinney and Williams at safety and Eric Stokes on the bench as his best secondary.

Will that be good enough against big-time quarterbacks in big-time games? According to PFF, Nixon has allowed a 118.8 passer rating and Bullard 113.1. Bullard has played some high-quality snaps; the Packers will need him to turn experience into consistency down the stretch.

At linebacker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and Edgerrin Cooper have two breakups apiece; Quay Walker has zero.

The pass rush has been hot and cold. Of Green Bay’s 22 sacks, 12 came against Tennessee (eight) and Houston (four). In the final two games before the bye, the Packers had just one sack apiece against Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Detroit’s Jared Goff, two quarterbacks known for throwing the football and not scrambling.

Devonte Walker has 3.0 sacks and Cooper has 2.5, but it’s the most mystifying thing imaginable that Rashan Gary has 2.5 sacks and Kenny Clark has zero. Did they suddenly forget how to play football?

Hafley – like every defensive coordinator – likes to say the combination rush and coverage is the key to a good pass defense. The Packers aren’t good enough in either area, which seems to portend trouble in an NFC playoff field featuring the Lions’ Goff, the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins, the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, the Vikings’ Sam Darnold and the Eagles’ Jaylen Hurts. All of them rank in the top 12 in passer rating.

The keys to the remainder of the season will be cranking up the pass rush and keeping Alexander on the field; two of their three losses came when he was sidelined for NFC North showdowns against Minnesota and Detroit. After missing two games with a groin injury, he allowed just one catch in each of his next three games before missing the Detroit game. Without him, Goff completed all 11 attempts to receivers.

Grade: C-plus

Rushing Defense

Green Bay’s run defense is the best it’s been in years. The Packers rank seventh with 4.24 yards allowed per carry. During Matt LaFleur’s first five seasons as coach, they were last with 4.66 yards allowed per carry. This season, they’ve allowed 4.0 yards per carry or less in six of nine games.

Much like the pass rush, though, it’s hot and cold. The Packers have allowed the third-most runs of 10-plus yards (41) but also have the fifth-most runs of 0 yards or less (55). Those 0-or-worse runs are called “stuffs” – only Carolina has more third-down stuffs than Green Bay. On runs on third-and-1 and third-and-2, opponents are converting 60.0 percent of the time; only six teams are better.

Linebacker Quay Walker (12) and defensive end Rashan Gary (10) lead the team in run stops (a PFF metric that matches Green Bay’s win/loss grading system).

Among 79 edge defenders with at least 100 snaps, Lukas Van Ness ranks 13th in PFF’s run-stop percentage; Preston Smith was 62nd. Of 69 linebackers with 94 run snaps (Edgerrin Cooper’s number), Cooper is 32nd, Walker is 40th and McDuffie is 67th.

Gary has the best differential on the team, with the run defense 0.34 yards better when he is on the field, according to league data. Linebacker Eric Wilson is next at 0.30, followed by defensive tackles TJ Slaton (0.25) and Kenny Clark (0.23).

The run defense is 0.36 yards per carry worse when defensive end Kingsley Enagbare is on the field, worst among Green Bay’s regular defenders, followed by Bullard (0.27) and Wyatt (0.23).

Gary ranks sixth among edge defenders in ESPN’s run-stop win rate.

Grade: B-minus.

Special Teams

The special teams “defense” consists of punting and covering kicks.

Punter Daniel Whelan is the MVP on special teams. He is fifth in the league with a net average of 43.9 yards. It will get tougher as the season progresses, but he’s on pace to smash the franchise net average record of 41.6 yards, set by Justin Vogel in 2017.

Whelan is second in average hang time and third in percentage of punts that have been returned, according to PFF. His 31 punts have allowed 77 return yards.

Not only has he consistently flipped the field, but he saved the day on Brandon McManus’ game-winning kick against Houston.

Kickoff coverage has been strong. Opponents are starting at the 28.5, the sixth-best mark in the league.

Zayne Anderson leads the team with six tackles, followed by Ty’Ron Hopper with five and Bullard and Cooper with four. All of Anderson’s tackles are solo, tying him for fourth in the league.

Grade: B.

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In writing this midseason report card, it's clear that the fate of the #Packers will depend on Jordan Love throwing it to the right person and that right person actually catching the ball. ⬇️https://t.co/MJExR0ciMi

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 10, 2024

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