The entire Green Bay Packers fanbase is fed up with defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s proclivity to the zone defense. Still, they might want him to heavily employ that scheme in Week 18 against Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears.
The Bears have been hot since Fields returned from injury in Week 11. The Bears have won four of their last five games, and the offense destroyed the Atlanta Falcons defense in Week 17 en route to a 37-17 win. The Falcons allowed Fields to shred their primary man defense.
Fields won’t see much man defense in Green Bay this week. Barry is known for employing the zone defense, even in situations where he allows a wide receiver like Mike Evans to be covered by a linebacker.
But Barry’s scheme can work against the Chicago.
The Green Bay Packers defense has the edge over the Bears’ offense
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Fields has better statistics against man coverage this season. Fields plays poorly when he has to face the zone:
“According to the NFL’s Next Gen statistics, here are Fields’ numbers versus man and zone coverages this season:
- Man: 54.1%, 11 TDs, 3 INTs, 1,066 yards, 6.8 yards per attempt, 81.4 QBR
- Zone: 66.0%, 5 TDs, 6 INTs, 1,348 yards, 6.9 yards per attempt, 26.4 QBR
There is a huge gap in his QBR for a couple of reasons. It’s easier for Fields to do damage as a runner against teams playing man coverage because defenders are running with their backs to the quarterback. Zone coverage has more eyes on the passer. He also has struggled at times to find throwing windows against zone coverage. Fields’ QBR versus man coverage is the fourth-highest in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott is tops at 90.8, and he really doesn’t pull the ball down and run very often.
Fields’ 26.4 QBR versus zone coverage ranks 28th in the league. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence is tops at 72.5 followed by Houston Texans rookie C.J. Stroud (72.3).
I’d imagine you are correct and the Bears will see a heavy amount of zone coverage Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Packers played zone coverage 79% of the time in the season opener at Soldier Field.”
This game is big for Barry, Fields, and Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. All three are competing for their jobs at the end of this season.
Barry’s only to return to Green Bay in 2024 is for the defense to help the Packers make a deep run in the playoffs. They will, for sure, get to the playoffs by beating the Bears in Week 18.
Fields is the perfect quarterback for Barry’s defense to gain confidence going into the postseason.
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