Green Bay Packers: 3 reasons they beat the Denver Broncos

The Green Bay Packers won their third game of the season to move to 3-0 on the year. It wasn’t pretty at times, but it was a win. Here are the three reasons that Green Bay was able to triumph over the Broncos

After the last couple of seasons, 3-0 has to be a nice feeling in Green Bay. Last year after three games, the Green Bay Packers were 1-1-1 coming off an ugly loss in Washington to the Redskins. This time around, the Packers look different and in a very good way.

The defense has been dominant through three games. They’re causing turnovers, they’re sacking the quarterback and they’re making splash plays. Meanwhile, the offense is still a work in progress, but they’ve been good enough to win.

This past Sunday against Denver was no different and here are three reasons the Packers were able to move to 3-0 on the season.

Brian Gutekunst

Take a bow, Mr. Gutekunst. The Green Bay Packers General Manager’s offseason is looking like it might go down as one of the best in the history of the team. Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Elgton Jenkins, Billy Turner, and Rashan Gary all were able to contribute in the team’s 27-16 win.

The Packers were incredibly aggressive this offseason, more than they have been in recent years. That group netted the Packers six sacks, a forced fumble and an interception on defense. On offense, Turner and Jenkins were instrumental in stonewalling the Broncos tough front seven.

Jenkins had some early jitters but shook that off to have a solid game, including a strong block on the team’s first touchdown run of the day. Early returns on their offseason investments are a big reason that the team is 3-0. It was also, far and away, the biggest reason they were able to win Sunday.

Sacks, Turnovers, Points

 Jim Johnson, former Eagles Defensive Coordinator used to say there were three stats he cared about for a defense. Sacks, turnovers, and points allowed. He didn’t care about yards, and that was especially true when it came to rushing yards. The Packers embodied this on Sunday.

They forced three turnovers, they intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles, while also recording six sacks. They allowed 16 points, including only six in the second half. That’ll get the job done against a lot of teams and Sunday it was good for a double-digit victory.

Jamaal Williams

The offense really didn’t provide much to write home about, but Jamaal Williams had a good day. Matt LaFleur drew some criticism this week for saying he wanted to even out the touches for his running back tandem and while Williams is not as dynamic as Jones, in the elements, this was his kind of game.

Williams runs like a chainsaw with legs. He had two impressive runs on the day where he looked to be stopped short of the first down, but powered through, pushing the pile to pick up the first down. The end stat line wasn’t sexy, Williams finished with 59 yards on 12 carries.

He was, however, an impactful player, including a third-down reception in the fourth quarter that allowed the Green Bay Packers to bleed more of the clock. If the Packers can continue to balance their running backs, it will keep them both fresh down the stretch of a long season.