Dairyland Express
Fansided

9 Big Things from the Green Bay Packers 2021 Season

By Paul Bretl

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary (52) rtecovers a second half fumble against the Chicago Bears during their football game on Sunday December 12, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-WisconsinApc Packers Vs Bears10646 121221wag
Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary (52) rtecovers a second half fumble against the Chicago Bears during their football game on Sunday December 12, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-WisconsinApc Packers Vs Bears10646 121221wag /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 9
Next
Green Bay Packers
Sep 12, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry walks down the sidelines during the first half against the New Orleans Saints at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Statistically speaking, the Green Bay Packers defense was similar to the 2020 version

There were a few performances this season where the Green Bay Packers defense under Joe Barry looked pretty dominant. During a three-game stretch against Arizona, Kansas City, and Seattle, the Packers were able to contain Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson, who would combine for 34 points, just over 600 passing yards, and four interceptions to one touchdown.

However, if you look at Green Bay’s final defensive stats to end the season, they were actually quite similar to the 2020 defense. The Packers finished ninth in total yards allowed this season compared to eighth a year ago. They would finish the regular season 13th in points per game in 2021 verse 14th in 2020. Not to mention that by DVOA, an advanced analytical metric, Green Bay was actually worse this season, falling to 22nd overall from 17th.

In terms of yards per rush allowed as well as explosive play rate given up, and opponent third-down success rate, all tell a similar story to the one above.

Now, with all of that said, maybe I’m a prisoner of the moment, but based on what we actually watched, I do believe this unit had improved. I know turnovers can be a volatile stat, but Green Bay was really good at generating them along with quarterback pressures–these were two areas they were much improved in.

Also, despite Green Bay ranking 30th in yards per rush allowed, they didn’t allow their first 100-yard rusher of the season until they faced Cleveland late in the season–in short, teams weren’t able to control games on the ground as they have in the past.

On top of that, while the Packers had typically beaten up on bad quarterbacks and struggled against the good ones, we saw them have some of their better performances of the season against some of the game’s top quarterbacks–look no further than the games mentioned above. This defense was also the only reason they had a chance in the playoffs against San Francisco–I certainly can’t say with confidence that this would have happened a season ago.

Home/Green Bay Packers