The Packers’ defense is struggling heading into Week 6
It’s safe to say that the Green Bay Packers defense is underperforming at this point. Five games are enough of a sample size to know the Packers’ defense has serious flaws. Packers fans want defensive coordinator Joe Barry fired after the team’s Week 5 loss to the New York Giants. It’s easy to tell things are wrong with the defense just by looking at the scoreboard. But other metrics show just how disappointing this defense is.
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated wrote about how bad the secondary has been in one key metric; passes defended. The Packers currently have seven passes defended; that’s the lowest in the NFL. He put that into context in a shocking way.
-Led by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 33, four teams have at least 30.
– Five teams have at least as many interceptions as the Packers have breakups. That includes this week’s opponent, the New York Jets, who have seven interceptions and 23 passes defensed.
– Two individuals, Dallas’ Trevon Diggs and Kansas City’s Charvarius Ward, have more passes defensed than the entire Packers defense.
– Jets rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner has six breakups.
The Packers’ secondary needs to lead the defense
It’s pretty bad from a unit hoping to be the best in the league this season. The Packers’ defense boasts one of the NFL’s best secondaries on paper, but this hasn’t come to fruition yet this season. Barry’s defensive scheme was questioned by cornerback Jaire Alexander following the Packers’ loss in Week 1. Alexander wanted to take on Minnesota Vikings wide receiver man-to-man instead of having the Packers sit in the zone. The zone has had a few detractors this season.
One key thing to keep in mind about the secondary, they’re not doing downright awful at pass defense. The Packers are averaging giving up only 177 yards through the air a game. That ranks them second in the league behind the Denver Broncos for the least passing yards given up a game. This week, we’ll see if the Packers can take advantage of a young New York Jets quarterback, Zach Wilson. The Packers’ secondary needs to tip some balls Sunday.
