GREEN BAY – Jeff Hafley called his shot.
Leading up to Sunday's 23-6 victory over the Vikings, the Packers defensive coordinator was asked about the effectiveness of Green Bay's pass rush, which had produced just three sacks over the last three games, two of which the Packers lost.
Having seen the Panthers, Eagles and Giants all battle the Packers in tight, fairly low-scoring games, as those opponents called numerous runs and screens on third downs to, in effect, neutralize Green Bay's pass rush, Hafley had this to say:
"We have to do a better job of getting the ball back to the offense, playing complementary football, scoring, going up on people so we then can let these guys go," he said. "And we just haven't been able to do that.
"We're not playing fourth-quarter NFL football where it's pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. When teams have to start throwing the ball on us, then I'm really looking forward to seeing those pressures and those sacks come."
Boy, did they ever, right when the Packers took their first multi-score lead since the Pittsburgh game a month ago.
Zayne Anderson's heads-up play to push Vikings returner Myles Price into a bouncing punt and then recover the live ball at the Minnesota 5-yard line was the play of the game in so many ways.
The short field, which the Packers converted into a touchdown, gave Green Bay a 17-6 lead just over four minutes into the third quarter.
From there, Hafley's defense took over. Here's how the Vikings' next drive drives went:
- Micah Parsons sacked Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy on first down, and the 7-yard loss led to a three-and-out.
- Evan Williams tripped up Aaron Jones in the backfield for a 1-yard loss, with Parsons and Devonte Wyatt following with consecutive sacks totaling 11 yards and pushing the Vikings back to their own 1-yard line.
- Colby Wooden tackled Jordan Mason for a 2-yard loss, which was followed by a false start, dropped pass, and another Wyatt sack back to the 2.
- Then two of McCarthy's next five passes were intercepted.
The curtains effectively closed as soon as the Packers got up by two scores.
"It was a dominant defensive performance, which allowed us to play the way we played," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said.
What LaFleur is referencing is the run-heavy offense after that, as the Packers took the air out of the ball, protected QB Jordan Love's bum left shoulder, and simply did what was necessary to put the game away.
Two field goals were added on to provide the final margin, the second making it a three-score game midway through the fourth quarter.
Three straight times, the Packers ran the ball on third-and-3 or less and didn't convert, but the field goals were enough with the way the defense was playing.
LaFleur admitted early in the fourth quarter in the red zone, on third-and-3, he was thinking the offense had two plays to move the chains. But when Emanuel Wilson was stopped for a loss on an inside run, he played it safe and kicked it.
For his part, Love seemed to understand the ultra-conservative nature of the play selection, which at one point in the second half saw LaFleur call the same running play several times in a row.
"I'm sure he was looking at me sideways a few of those calls," LaFleur said of his QB. "I would've been too.
"When you have a defense that played the way that we did today, that kind of can dictate what you do offensively. I thought, just, we did what we needed to do."
Exactly. With the special teams making the play of the game and the offense building a lead, the defense could carry the day against a young QB making just his sixth NFL start.
How games unfold matters, and this one, finally, played to the Packers' defensive strength. Riding that to a win was what Hafley had been waiting for.
