Malik Willis is 2-0 as the interim starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, thanks to Matt LaFleur’s masterful game-planning and complementary football in all three phases.
Willis did everything necessary to win the game, including playing mostly mistake-free football — something his former teammate Will Levis could not replicate.
Levis made plenty of mistakes, but Jeff Hafley’s defense deserves plenty of credit for making the mayonnaise-loving quarterback’s life a living heck. On top of three turnovers, including a pick-six and an impressive fourth-down stop, Hafley’s pass rush showed up in a big way after two quiet weeks. Levis was the Rome to Hafley’s conquerors, who sacked the quarterback a whopping eight times, the most by a Packers defense in nearly 20 years.
After two weeks of game-planning around highly mobile quarterbacks in their first two games, the Packers took advantage of Tennessee’s porous offensive line, showing that concerns about their pass rush are premature. That supports the idea that Green Bay built its rush plan with containment in mind and that the Packers may finally have a coordinator who actually has different plans for different opponents.
Even against Tennessee’s notoriously poor pass-blocking, the pass rush still took some time to hit home. But once the hits started coming, they didn’t stop.
Seven of Green Bay’s defenders were credited with at least half a sack during the eight-sack decimation of Levis, including Preston Smith and Devonte Wyatt, who each had two. And that’s not even counting Rashan Gary, who had a crucial third-down sack called back thanks to a Preston Smith penalty that ended up costing the Packers four points. The Titans lost 56 yards from sacks alone.
Sacks are the fun, flashy stat, but that isn’t where the fun stops. The Packers pressured Levis 20 times, led by Preston Smith’s four. The pass rush also generated a turnover when the Titans desperately needed to score, with Lukas Van Ness recovering the ball after a brutal hit from Kingsley Enagbare. Levis was harassed constantly, especially in the second half. He never recovered, leading to Green Bay’s second win of the season.
Green Bay’s performance came after it only recorded three sacks in the first two games. There were concerns about the new Packers defense’s ability to get to the quarterback. However, now it seems clear that statements about it being by design were more than lip service.
Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson can gash defenses with their legs. We saw Hurts do this against the Packers in their last matchup when he had 157 rush yards against Green Bay. Knowing that flushing these dual-threat quarterbacks out of the pocket could end in disaster, Hafley instead went for a containment plan.
In Week 1, the Packers only sacked Hurts twice but severely limited him on the ground, allowing only 33 yards on 13 attempts. Similarly, Richardson was only sacked once but managed only 37 yards on four attempts. You’d like to see the pass rush hit home more often. Still, after years of seeing rushing quarterbacks carve up Green Bay’s defense like a Thanksgiving turkey, it was nice seeing that element contained.
Meanwhile, Levis is less of a threat with his legs, and Tennessee’s pass protection was suspect, so Hafley instead planned a more aggressive attack.
There were many legitimate criticisms of Joe Barry’s defense, but one of the most glaring was his inability to change his game plan. He would prepare for Patrick Mahomes the same way he did for Bryce Young. In three games with Hafley, we’re seeing the ability to prepare and adapt accordingly. The concerns around the pass rush in the first two games are quickly looking like a designed plan rather than an inability to get to the quarterback.
It’s also fair to state that this is a new defensive scheme and players are still adjusting. We still haven’t seen true breakout performances from two of the defensive line’s biggest stars, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary, yet. But having seen those players put in the work in a worse system, there’s no reason to believe they won’t get there.
Gary’s best play of the day against the Titans was ruled out thanks to a penalty, but that doesn’t mean he was invisible. Gary ran Levis into Van Ness’ sack with excellent precision, and he had three pressures and was solid against the run. Gary will be able to build on that moving forward.
Clark has had an uncharacteristically slow start; Andy Herman and PFF made him one of the lowest-graded Packers this season. But the defense is still rolling along, and we’ve seen what the veteran can do. I’m not worried about Clark yet. Next week is an ideal time for him to come alive.
He has historically done well against the Vikings, who are the fifth-worst team in pass-blocking efficiency. Minnesota has allowed 33 pressures, and quarterback Sam Darnold has a knee bruise. While Darnold avoided any structural damage, we’ll see if his movement is affected on Sunday. Regardless, the Minnesota offensive line offers another chance for Hafley’s rushing attack to take over the game.
Hafley has been as advertised as a defensive coordinator, and that’s without two of his best players playing up to their usual standard. He’s showing the ability to plan for opponents rather than adhere to the idea of a scheme. Hafley’s pass rush attack came alive in Week 3 against an exploitable opponent. Can he do it again in a meaningful divisional clash against the 3-0 Vikings?
