Team effort has Packers' defense trending upward

Coming into the season, the Green Bay Packers pretty much knew what they were going to have on the offensive side of the ball.

The defense, on the other hand, was an unknown after bringing in Joe Barry as defensive coordinator.

Through the first six quarters of the season, the Packers’ defense looked like it might be a hindrance to the team’s lofty aspirations. But the last six quarters, the defense has shown some positive signs and should only continue improving as the players get familiar with the new schemes and as the unit gets healthier.

The defense’s debut against the New Orleans Saints didn’t go according to plan, as the Saints scored on six of its eight possessions — of the scores, five were touchdowns, so even the unit’s bend but don’t approach that was a familiar sight in years past was absent.

After the game, the team announced that pass-rushing linebacker Za’Darius Smith would go on injured reserve, so improved play seemed bleak.

The Packers’ defense continued to struggle in the first half of the Detroit Lions game, allowing scores on three of four possessions in the first half. The unit was able to turn things around in the second half though as it shut out the Lions and only allowed only 145 yards, caused two turnovers and made two stops on fourth down.

Against a more complete San Francisco 49ers offense, the Packers defense continued its strong play. It might have been one of its best defensive showings in years had the special teams unit not set the defense up deep in its own territory at the end of the first half and had several questionable calls not gone against the unit in the second half.

“I was proud of our defensive effort,” said coach Matt LaFleur. “Certainly, there’s things to clean up, just like there is every week, but I thought they battled and did a really nice job.”

Green Bay’s defense made it a focal point to try and slow San Francisco’s running game, and were able to accomplish that.

The 49ers managed just 67 rushing yards in the contest and averaged just 3.2 yards per rush.

Defensive lineman Kenny Clark helped set the tone for the defense and was constantly in the 49ers’ backfield. As the game continued and San Fran sent more bodies at Clark, defensive linemen Dean Lowry, Tyler Lancaster and T.J. Slaton all were able to make some plays and create some pressure on the quarterback.

Speaking of the pass rush, the Packers had their best game getting after the quarterback, which is a promising sign with Za’Darius Smith out of the lineup.

Green Bay was credited with 11 quarterback hits on the night, with outside linebacker Preston Smith leading the way with three. Fellow OLB Rashan Gary and Jonathan Garvin had two each while Clark, Lowry, Slaton and linebacker Oren Burks had one each.

Green Bay had four sacks in the contest and also forced the fumble from Jimmy Garoppolo on the backwards pass in the fourth quarter. The Packers other takeaway came early in the second quarter when cornerback Jaire Alexander ran down a deep ball by Garoppolo.

“I thought, for the most part, our guys played pretty physical,” said LaFleur. “We were playing together. I felt like just the effort, the overall effort on the defensive side of the ball was really good.

“I thought we were swarming to the football and just did a nice job tackling for the most part.”

The stat sheet showed that.

Green Bay finished the night with six passes defensed along with Alexander’s interception. Alexander had three of the pass breakups.

The defense also was able to limit big plays. The longest San Fran run was 16 yards, with new middle linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and safeties Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos doing a nice job in run support.

Campbell led the team in tackles for a second-straight week with 11 combined. He also recovered the fumble by Garoppolo and showed off his speed with a couple open field tackles.

Along with missing Za’Darius Smith for the contest, the unit was also down cornerback Kevin King, who missed the game will an illness. That thrust rookie Eric Stokes into a starting role.

Stokes was whistled for a pair of pass interference calls — although his second one was a highly questionable call where he barely made contact with the receiver — but otherwise held his own.

San Fran tried to attack Stokes, but he remained physical despite his couple PI calls. He finished with five total tackles and knocked down a pass.

“I thought he competed and did a really nice job,” said LaFleur of Stokes.

The Packers also had Lancaster and middle linebacker Krys Barnes leave with injuries, which opened up some opportunities for Slaton and Burks.

While the Packers would of course rather be 100 percent healthy and have its best 11 starters on the field, building up the confidence of some of the backups should only help as the season continues on. It also gives the team some much-needed depth.

The next test for the Packers’ defense comes against a Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense that has underperformed so far this season. Pittsburgh has been sacked eight times through three games and ranks near the bottom of the league in total yards and rushing yards. The Steelers are averaging just 16.7 points per game, which is bottom five in the NFL.

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