The Green Bay Packers lost more than just the game in Denver on Sunday. Micah Parsons tore his ACL in the second half, ending his season right before the playoffs. The long recovery will almost certainly bleed into next season, complicating the Packers' future defensive plans. Before they can start worrying about next season, though, the Packers coaching staff must find solutions in Parsons' absence before the final three weeks of the regular season.
Replacing a player who is responsible for over one-third of your team's sacks is obviously not going to be easy. Parsons is a game-wrecker and has been single-handedly carrying this Packers' pass rush. His production has been covering up the issues ailing the rest of the defensive line. Without him, the D-line has to step up in a major way.
Micah Parsons' Injury Could Expose A Lot About Packers' D-Line
Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare, and Lukas Van Ness will obviously play as many snaps as they can handle. Barryn Sorerell will likely play a bigger role down the stretch. Brenton Cox Jr. and Collin Oliver are set to return from their injuries soon. The Packers should have enough options at defensive end.
The bigger problem, however, is with the interior defensive line. The Packers get very little from their defensive tackles, especially in terms of pass rush. Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden have been starting in Devonte Wyatt's absence, but neither player offers much in terms of QB pressure. Brooks had 21 pressures in the first eight weeks of the season, per Pro Football Focus, but has had only two since then. Wooden has eight pressures and zero sacks in 501 defensive snaps this season.
Warren Brinson and Jordon Riley are the other two interior defensive linemen who have been seeing snaps since Wyatt has been ruled out for the season. Brinson has one QB pressure in his last three games, and Riley has two QB hurries across 11 pass-rushing downs since making his team debut in Week 14.
When you have someone like Parsons, these issues may not matter. Once he is out of the picture, however, they will be amplified. This is why the next three weeks will be the biggest test for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley in his tenure with Green Bay. Whether he can find ways to generate enough pressure and force turnovers will determine where the Packers finish and how far they can go sans Parsons.