GREEN BAY – The Giants' defense didn't record a single sack last Sunday.
But that's not fooling anyone, least of all the Packers as they prepare for their Week 11 matchup out east.
New York's defensive front – which includes four first-round draft picks in Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence and Abdul Carter – had Bears QB Caleb Williams running for his life as Chicago pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback.
The Giants seemingly had Williams dead to rights at least a handful of times and he escaped all of them. He dropped back to pass 43 times (36 pass attempts, seven scrambles) in the game and never got sacked, but the pressure was constant and difficult to handle. The Giants just couldn't finish against the elusive Williams.
"He was amazing," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "I can't believe how he was able to get out of a lot of things. It's an extremely disruptive front whether they're getting home or not. So we're going to have to do a great job in protection. You can't let off for one second versus this group."
Burns leads the bunch with 11 sacks, which is tied with Cleveland's Myles Garrett for the league lead. But here's the flip side of the Giants' defense – it ranks 31st against the run, allowing an average of 152 yards per game on the ground.
So it seems a productive running game is the starting point to protecting QB Jordan Love and getting the Packers' offense back on track after two frustrating performances against the Panthers and Eagles produced just 20 total points.
"They've given up a lot of explosive runs, but I think we've got to come into it with the mindset that we're going to play our game," Love said following Wednesday's walk-through workout. "Obviously we want to establish the run and be able to take advantage of that, but also at the same time we want to be able to throw the ball. I think we'll be able to block their front and we've just got to handle business."
A more productive, or better put more dangerous, ground game would cure a lot of Green Bay's offensive ills. Josh Jacobs has churned out a healthy 161 rushing yards in the last two games, but only two of his 38 carries have been explosive gains (12-plus yards).
Defenses feeling threatened by the running game will devote more personnel to stopping it, which changes coverages and other looks the offense can exploit. But that's not the only fix.
The Packers also have to eliminate the times they go backwards, be it via penalty, sack or negative run, and not turn the ball over. A fumble in scoring territory in each of the last two games has proven mighty costly.
The team views many of the miscues within its control, so despite all the problems that need cleaning up, the perspective is the offense isn't that far off.
"I think we're right there," Love said. "We're right there as an offense. It just comes down to those small details that are holding us back. But we have everything we need on offense. We've got the right players. Obviously we've got some injuries, but we've still got the right mindset. We've just got to find ways to focus more, hone in on those little details and execute."
Some of those injuries have been at receiver, but Matthew Golden (shoulder) is back in the mix at practice after missing the Eagles game with a shoulder injury. Also Romeo Doubs, who exited Monday night with a chest injury, was estimated as a full participant on Wednesday's injury report.
Another injury is at center, where Elgton Jenkins is unlikely to return this season. Sean Rhyan stepped in when he left the Philly game and is taking over that spot.
Rhyan knows all about the Giants' formidable defensive front, but the focus is more internal than external as the Packers look to get their offense rolling again.
"They have some players over there, but we're a good O-line. We're a good team," Rhyan said. "They get paid over there, too. We get paid over here. Try not to do anything too cute and just do our thing."
It wasn't that long ago the Packers put up 28 points in the second half at Pittsburgh. They know what they can do when they don't damage their own cause.
"At the end of the day, it comes back to everybody doing their job, honing in on the details," Love said. "There's a lot of errors that are hurting us that we can easily clean up and easily fix, and the game would look a little different."
