Green Bay Packers v. Seahawks: 4 Big Things from Shutout Win
By Paul Bretl
Led by an absolutely dominant performance by the defensive side of the ball, the Green Bay Packers improved to 8-2 on the season with a 17-0 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Now that I’ve had the opportunity to look back at Sunday’s game and digest what took place, as always, I have my 4 Big Things from the Packers’ performance.
The Green Bay Packers defense is legit and playing at a Championship level
A shutout. The Green Bay Packers’ defense dominated the Seattle offense from start to finish as they held the Seahawks scoreless.
Against the incredibly elusive Russell Wilson, the Green Bay defensive front would log three sacks, five quarterback hits and did an excellent job of keeping him in the pocket, so that he couldn’t extend many plays. In the run game, the Seattle running backs averaged 3.9 yards per rush, and their longest run was only 10 yards.
On the back end, the Packers’ secondary held this big-play Seattle offense in check. As I wrote leading up to the game, Wilson was second in deep-ball passing rate while Tyler Lockett has been one of the best downfield receivers in football this season, and DK Metcalf is no stranger to the big-play either. Seattle entered the game fourth in explosive pass-play rate, according to Sharp Football.
Yet, Green Bay was able to stifle this Seattle passing attack by playing a heavy amount of cover-2, with Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos over the top to limit the big play, but also available to provide the cornerbacks with some help. Not to mention that this cornerback unit made up of Kevin King, Chandon Sullivan, and Rasul Douglas continues to play very well, even without Jaire Alexander.
Overall, the Seattle offense averaged just 3.5 yards per play — for some context, Chicago ranks last in the NFL this season with 4.7 yards per play — only 208 total yards, and the Green Bay Packers defense forced two turnovers.
Following the game, Field Yates of ESPN put into perspective just how good this Packers defense has been the last three weeks. Against Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson, Green Bay allowed just 34 total points, a completion rate of 56.3 percent, 601 yards, along with one passing touchdown and four interceptions.
We have a defense in Green Bay.