Without the comfort of leaning on Aaron Rodgers and the offense, the Green Bay Packers must look to their defense—and its ability to pressure the quarterback—to lead the team to a win over Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins in the NFC Wild Card Round.
It seems ever more unlikely, given the sheer volume of evidence from the last 10 games, that Rodgers and the Packers offense will suddenly wake up from its slumber. Mike McCarthy’s group is so clearly broken, with issues and regression plaguing every area of playing offense—from protecting the quarterback, to running the football, to getting open downfield and throwing the football on time and accurately.
For the Packers to advance, Dom Capers’ defense must play well. There’s no way around it. The Packers can’t get into a shootout on Sunday afternoon and expect to leave the nation’s capital with a postseason win.
Green Bay’s most obvious path to disrupting the Washington offense is putting pressure on Cousins, who finished with 29 touchdown passes and a 101.6 passer rating during a breakout 2015 season.
When not under pressure in 2015, Cousins completed nearly 78 percent of his passes, with 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His passer rating from a clean pocket was 115.7.
Create some disruption and Cousins becomes a much less productive quarterback.
He completed just 54.4 percent of his passes under duress, with seven touchdowns, seven interceptions and a passer rating of 73.0.
The Packers are capable of providing the necessary pressure. Green Bay finished seventh in the NFL in sacks with 43.0, including 10.5 from Julius Peppers and 6.5 from Clay Matthews. Mike Daniels registered just 4.0 sacks, but he was a frequent visitor in opponent’s backfields this season. Green Bay also produced five other players with at least three sacks.
Pressure on Cousins appears all the more important when you consider the current state of the Packers secondary.
Starting cornerback Sam Shields, who has missed the last three games, is still going through concussion protocol. He likely won’t play. His absence will leave the Packers leaning on two rookie cornerbacks—first-round pick Damarious Randall and second-round pick Quinten Rollins—against Washington’s loaded supporting cast. Receivers DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder and tight Jordan Reed would be a lot to handle for a healthy Packers secondary.
Green Bay can’t afford to have its young cornerbacks covering downfield while Cousins stands and waits in a clean pocket.
The Packers are facing a hot quarterback with a talented supporting cast, and it’s looking more and more unlikely that Rodgers and the offense will be capable of bailing out the team if the defense falters. For Green Bay to continue its season, pressure on Cousins is an absolute must.
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