Turnovers coming in bunches for Green Bay Packers defense
By Paul Bretl
As the old football saying goes, turnovers come in bunches, and that has very much been the case for the Green Bay Packers defense during their four-game winning streak.
During this stretch of games, the Packers have forced 12 turnovers, including eight in their last two outings against Miami and Minnesota. In total, Green Bay has come away with nine interceptions and three fumbles. They now rank eighth in both turnover differential and takeaways after spending most of the 2022 season ranked in the bottom third of those categories.
Turnovers are very much a volatile stat and can be difficult to predict from year to year. In 2019, the Packers ranked third in total takeaways. Then in 2020, Green Bay dropped all the way to 26th, only to bounce back to eighth in 2021. Even this season, as already mentioned, has come with a huge swing.
So when trying to pinpoint what has changed for the Green Bay defense in recent weeks, perhaps some of it can’t be explained other than there being some poor play by the opponent, along with turnovers coming in bunches. However, there are two tangible things that have changed for the Green Bay defense over the last month — and especially as of late — that have likely been key factors in this turnover turnaround.
One is that the Packers have been creating more consistent pressure on the quarterback. This in itself can help create more turnover opportunities by getting the quarterback out of rhythm, on the move, and hurried. Just this past Sunday against the Vikings, we saw a Kenny Clark sack turn into a fumble recovery, and a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage by TJ Slaton end up in Adrian Amos’ hands.
On top of that, this has been a fundamentally more sound secondary with much better communication. For much of the year, and even during the first half of the Miami game, we saw miscommunications from the back end of this defense that resulted in big plays for the offense.
But, for the most part, those types of plays have been few and far between during this winning streak, which means defenders are in better positions to make plays on the ball, and when multiple defenders are in the area, inaccurate passes or deflected balls have a chance to be intercepted, with Amos’ aforementioned interception, Darnell Savage’s pick six, and Jaire Alexander’s interception in Miami all being examples of this.
Joe Barry has also had his players in better positions by not playing off-coverage as frequently, which again, has the defenders in a position to make plays rather than providing the pass catchers with so much space and uncontested catches.
"“A big reason why we’ve won these last four games is the turnover battle,” said Matt LaFleur via Packers.com on Monday. “We got 12 takeaways in the last four games, and when you’re on the right side of that, it gives you a much better opportunity. Whereas conversely, when we hit that skid (the five-game losing streak), and for the majority of the season, we were losing the turnover battle, it makes it hard. So we just have to capitalize on those opportunities, try to be very mindful of the ball, and go after the ball, contest catches. Talking about our coverage as well, we’ve gotten our hands on more balls as well.”"
While not perfect, in addition to limiting the opponent’s number of offensive possessions, the Packers’ offense has been able to capitalize off their own additional possessions by turning their subsequent drives after a turnover into points seven out of 12 times, including four touchdowns.
The Green Bay defense is playing its best football at the right time, and a big reason for their turnaround has been their ability to create turnovers through pressure, and fundamentally sound football. They’ll once again face a difficult test this week, going against a Detroit offense that can put up points in a hurry.